


A Little Help From My Friends

by thebeanunderthecorner



Series: the one with the jackals [1]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alcohol Mentions, Angst, Awkward Flirting, Candlenights, Canon Trans Character, Denial of Feelings, Dissociation, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, FEELINGS ARE WEIRD, First Kiss, Fluff, Friendship, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Love Confessions, M/M, Magic, Mental Health Issues, Mild Language, Mutual Pining, Other, Past Character Death, Past Relationship(s), Post-Episode: e067-069 Story and Song Parts 1-3, Relationship Issues, Ren is stressed, Secret Crush, Sleepy Cuddles, Trust Issues, doubts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:08:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 21,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27420055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebeanunderthecorner/pseuds/thebeanunderthecorner
Summary: Ren had ninety-nine problems, and Taako was eighty-four of them.But not for much longer.(NaNoWriMo meets Inktober prompts.)
Relationships: Barry Bluejeans/Lup, Davenport/Merle Highchurch, Kravitz/Taako (The Adventure Zone), Magnus Burnsides/Ren, Past Julia Burnsides/Magnus Burnsides
Series: the one with the jackals [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2036374
Comments: 17
Kudos: 17





	1. Resolution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Ren is stressed

She’d had quite the eventful weekend, yet still found just a sliver of time before the day’s end to write in her journal, a small blue leather bound thing. It held all her deepest, darkest, and most important memories. Being rather old it was worn and stuffed with newspaper clippings, pictures from her days in Refuge, and student drawings glued, taped, and paperclipped precariously between the pages, making it look thicker than it was ever supposed to be.

But she had not added anything new in a while.

Writing in her journal every night used to be a habit, but Ren was so tired when she got home from teaching at what was _supposed_ to be Taako’s magic school. It ended up being _her_ school more than anything. It was Taako’s institution in name only, probably to attract students, because he’s Taako, from TV, One of the Saviors of Faerun. Who wouldn’t want to be taught by one of the Greatest Wizards of All Time? Who wouldn’t want to go to Taako’s Amazing School of Magic? And for this, Ren overworked herself, for an elf that was rarely ever on the premises.

“Never mind actually teaching a damn class,” she muttered under her breath. She frustrated herself in all she had to prepare for Candlenights celebrations at the school. There was so much to do. Food to make, decorations to fetch, lights to hang, and so much more. When Taako first brought up a school-wide Candlenights party, she’d thought it was a great idea! But now just a couple days before the festivities, the end of the semester, she regretted ever agreeing to work there.

She wrote out her frustrations in one of the last pages of her well worn journal, letting the Fantasy Sharpie bleed into the fibers of the paper as her emotions came out through the ink. She had papers to grade, dinner to make for herself, and a bucket load of stress to carry around with her at all times.

It was exhausting.

Her students were great.

Awesome.

Amazing.

Good kids.

But, hoo boy, were they _bad_ at magic.

Well... Everyone was once bad at magic, right at the very start of their magical abilities manifesting, but these kids had never even heard of wands or foci or spell slots. She had to start at the very beginning, teaching these teens things that most magically-inclined toddlers could do without problem. And that was wearing her out just about as much as practically running the school in Taako’s absence does.

“That’s it. I can’t keep this up much longer. Either we need more people on staff, or Taako needs to get his shit together and come to work at least twice a week. Doing all this is draining me of all motivation for anything. He can’t continue to be nonchalant about his attendance just because he’s not a student. He needs to step up his game,” she muttered, vocalizing her grievances to no one in particular.

“Y’know what? I’m going to give that man a piece of my mind next time I see him,” she resolved, instantly feeling a weight lifted from her shoulders.

She checked the clock on her wall. It was rather late for someone who had to rise so early the next morning. That meant she had to eat right now.

Ren set her pen down, closed her overstuffed journal, and stood up off of the couch in her living room. She stretched and started to head into the kitchen to make a simple dinner for one. But what to make? Fantasy Hungry Man, or spaghetti? She didn’t know which meal she felt like eating more.

As she was contemplating her food options, there was a knock at the door. Ren went to go see who it was.

She looked through the peephole and saw the last person she wanted to see after all this.

Taako.

“Shit!”


	2. Breakfast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Ren gets some visitors, and breakfast in bed

Ren opened the door, and there was the man she wanted to see least in the world. Taako, the man of the hour himself. And, peeking out from behind him, his kid. Well, his recently adopted, super genius kid. The Greatest Detective in The World, Angus McDonald. 

Why were they at her house, of all places?

“Uhm, hello, Ma’am,” the littlest sleuth said, meekly stepping out from where he was standing. “Our apartment is undergoing some sudden… renovations… and none of our other friends have quite as much space for company as you do, or so Mister Taako says. I am unaware if this is true, but I trust that he wouldn’t lie to me. I would have figured it out already if he had. May we stay with you, Miss Ren? It should only be for a day or two and then we’ll be out of your hair, Ma’am,” he pleaded. 

Looking up at the tall elf, he asked “Did I say that right, Sir?” Taako gave a slight thumbs up and ruffled the kid’s hair.

Ren just stood there, wide eyed. Taako stepped forward, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“So, here’s the deal, friendo. Ango here was working on a new spell and I, like the good role model I am, natch, suggested he power it up a little. Give it some oomph. Some pizazz. Aaaaand, somehow, through no fault of my own, the building we were living in doesn’t exist in the same state as it used to,” the wizard explained. “Got a place for your two favorite boys?”

Ren held her head in her hands for a bit, processing the reality of the situation she’d been placed in. One second she was cursing her friend and mentor’s name, the next she was being persuaded to take in said friend and mentor because of some dumb magic mishap. 

“Fine,” she sighed. “You can stay a couple nights, but then you have to find somewhere else, as I have relatives staying over for Candlenights.” 

She did not have relatives staying over for Candlenights.

“Really, Ma’am? Thank you!” Angus rushed to hug her tight, and she took notice of how little they actually had with them.

...

She let them into her home, swiping up the journal she’d left on the side table when she went to answer the door. While showing them to the guest room, she laid out some ground rules.

“Here’s the guest room. Angus should probably take the bed because he’s a human and actually needs sleep. Now, don’t stay up later than eleven at night. I won’t be able to meditate well knowing people are wandering around my house willy nilly. Keep the room clean. Don’t want bugs or anything like that. Don’t mess with anything that’s not yours.I will hurt you if you do. And NO MAGIC IN THE HOUSE! Now, you two can settle in a bit and I’ll be back shortly with an extra meditation mat for you, Taako.”

With that, she left them to their devices and finally went to heat up that Fantasy Hungry Man that was in her freezer. Once that was going, she searched for another mat like hers for Taako. She’d seen it just the other day. Where was it? 

Oh. Right. 

Lup wanted to borrow it a few months back, and she didn’t know Lup suuuper well, so she was kind of afraid to ask for it back. So, she grabbed the next best thing. It was also the most embarrassing thing for this situation: the “Sizzle It Up with Taako” blanket she’d bought when she went to his show in the Underdark all those years ago. Ren folded it neatly, trying to show that she was a kind and benevolent hostess, and placed it outside the guest room door right as the microwave beeped, signaling to her that her meal was ready. She knocked twice and hurried to the kitchen to eat, afraid of what Taako would think of both the blanket and the fact that she was eating fucking freezer meals after becoming a chef because of him.

She scarfed down the food and rushed to get to bed, her last thoughts before she went into trance being “Why now? Why me?” repeated over and over again.

…

Ren awoke to the smell of crepes and bacon. Surely she must’ve been hallucinating or dreaming or something. No one was there to make anything for breakfast before she did it herself, right? She did not know, for the events of the last night were a little fuzzy in her mind. Was there someone else in the house with her? Why would she have any-

“Good morning, Ma’am!” Her door burst open, an eleven year old boy with a tray of food entering unannounced. “Taako made some crepes! He wouldn’t want me to tell you this, but he got concerned after he saw the Fantasy Hungry Man box in your recycling bin and decided that you need some good food in you. I tried telling him you’re fine, but I know he doesn’t let anyone go hungry. That’s why he’s a chef!” When the quick words ended the child beamed.

The dark elf couldn’t resist such an adorable smile, nor could she resist the smell of the food being offered to her. She took the serving tray and looked at the food before her. Immaculate crepes folded into triangles with fruits and cream in them lay before her, topped with fresh whipped cream, strips of bacon in a pile next to them. The mug placed above the plate steamed with hot apple cider, the perfect drink for a winter’s morning. 

Damn, he was good. 

And then she took her first bite.

Gods! It was like nothing she’d ever tasted before. The crepe was the perfect consistency, the fruit was absolutely delicious, and the cider was just the right temperature. She was in heaven.

“Dammit! I can’t be mad at him now,” she whined between bites. This was seriously the best meal she’d ever had, all thanks to Taako, you know, from TV.


	3. Limbo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Ren dissociates, and it rains

Ren said nothing but a quick “Thanks” to Taako as she left the house to go to work, thoughts all jumbled like the pods in a Fantasy Gashapon machine. Clouds gathered in the sky above her, but she didn’t notice. She was so out of it she almost missed the entrance to the school. 

How could one person cause this much distress in such little time? 

Oh wait. It was Taako. Never mind.

She went through the day in a haze, almost like if she was a mannequin going through the motions of a person. Her students took notice as she stumbled on her words while she was teaching. 

“Miss, are you okay?” a halfling piped up as the teacher hesitated while writing something on the board. Ren turned around, a fake smile plastered on her face.

“Of course! Let’s get back to the lesson,” she said, hoping to dampen the heavy spirit in the room. “Now, who can tell me what a focus is?”

…

The clouds fell to the ground, piece by piece, wetting the land as if it were the ocean floor. That is to say, the rain beat hard and fast against the ground, relentless in its onslaught. Ren hardly paid attention to the downpour as she walked home, her head spun with responsibilities and worry. Worries about said responsibilities. About Candlenights festivities and final grades and houseguests and That Wizard, and, and, and…

And all of a sudden, she was in front of her house. But she couldn’t be, because the lights were on and she could smell something delicious cooking when she’d sworn she had left the house empty. Then, the kid opened the door.

“Ma’am, what are you doing just standing in the rain like that? You’ll get sick if you don’t come inside and dry off!” Angus called out. The kid didn’t have a bad bone in his body. Ren could tell that just from her limited interactions with him. She forced her mouth into a slight smile as she remembered that, yes, this was her house indeed.

...

Ren was so tired that she couldn’t figure out how she wound up on her couch in dry clothes, with a blanket over her shoulders and a mug of leftover cider in her hands. She only knew she had been at work, and then she wasn’t. And that Taako and Angus were staying with her awhile. She didn’t even notice that Angus had cast Detect Thoughts on her. Nor that there was a whispered conversation going on about it in the kitchen.

“Sir, it’s like her brain is in limbo right now.”

“Limbo? Like, the game where you walk under a stick?” Taako joked. “Jay-kay, jay-kay. But, like, what’s that mean, exactly, Agnes?” The boy detective cringed at the nickname.

“She’s sort of, shutting down, one could say, because of all the things you’ve given her to do.” 

“How? What have I done?”

“Well, you hardly show up to your own school, Sir. She’s gotta be freaking out trying to keep it running. And I believe I saw some fliers for a Candlenights celebration at the school around here somewhere. She’s probably stressing over decorations and food and stuff. I think she needs a bit of time away from everything to cool down. Wouldn’t it be a nice thing to do if you just helped her out a little?” Angus pleaded. 

Taako was shocked. How could Ren have kept all this from him? She should have asked for help, or at least let him know how she felt. Why hadn’t she come to him sooner? Was he that bad at telling how people felt?

He sighed.

“Well, Ango, I guess we gotta do something about this. Whaddya say we clean up this mess a bit? Sounds good?”

Angus nodded.

Ren was going to be so surprised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading the first couple chapters and leaving kudos! I hope you continue to enjoy the rest of the chapters coming up. They're a lot of fun to write. It may be a few days between updates since I have to let my editors edit, but I write every day, so there should be plenty more chapters coming your way soon! <3 ya!


	4. Erase

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Taako and Angus do some chores and phone a friend

Taako and Angus did all they could to tidy up Ren’s house as the woman sat on the couch in a near catatonic state. They did everything from washing dishes to cleaning windows. Sweeping to dusting. The two even cleaned the bathrooms, taking care to not disturb personal items and only working on the bits that truly needed a good cleaning. 

Eventually, Angus noticed an odd sight. A messy chalkboard hung on the wall of one of the extra rooms, a room filled with shelves of books and school-related items. And, strangely, a ton of party supplies. 

It was a complete mess.

“So this is where she goes to work on everything for class,” Taako said, a bit puzzled. “How can she work like this? This room is in shambles!”

He started to pick things up, figuring out where to put them by the general look and feel of the items. Then he got bored and started using simple magic to move everything where he thought it should be. It was a real Fantasy Matilda moment, stuff floating about as he spun around and pointed at the object’s new home in the room, the elf humming to himself as he worked. 

Soon, all that was left was a pile of Candlenights decorations and that very messy chalkboard. Taako looked at the board and wondered why she hadn’t switched over to using a whiteboard yet. Traditional slate chalkboards were going out of style, out of production even, so why would she still use one?

While he was pondering this, he was also trying to decipher Ren’s somewhat scratchy penmanship. He was getting nowhere with it when Angus showed up, finished folding the blankets and towels that had been lying in a heap on the floor of the living room. The boy noticed the board as well, but since he was just a little boy and was still attending school, still writing things by hand, he could read their hostess’s scrawl just fine. 

Taako hadn’t been around any kind of writing like this in years, so he had no idea what was being said on the wall. As the elf stood there stupefied by the mess, Angus was already writing down the list of tasks that was on the board, thankful that he had classmates with similarly bad handwriting.

“It’s a list of things she has to get done before this Friday. Before the semester ends and the school’s Candlenights party. I’m just a kid and I figured it out right away, Sir,” Angus McDonald, boy genius, explained to his visibly confused guardian. “It’s very messy though. Like she’s written and rewritten so many ideas, or maybe tasks, before these got put up.”

“If she doesn’t wanna be stressed out, then, maybe, she should get rid of a bunch of these to-do list items. Just erase ‘em and it’s like they never existed,” the elf suggested. “But it seems like these are kind of… oh, how do you say… important? Just a thought.”

“Sir, perhaps we should work on completing some of these things for her so she doesn’t have so much to do. A lot of these are things we could get done with a little magic or a few friends.” The boy detective looked at Taako pointedly, gesturing to the pile of decorations and supplies.

“Or… We could get rid of the list altogether by smashing apart this board and getting her a whiteboard…”

“SIR! You know we can’t do that! Where’s your stone of farspeech? I wanna call Mister Magnus and get him over here. He loves crafts and would probably be willing to help us wi-”

“Now lemme stop you right there, Ango. As much as I love the big guy, Magnus is, like, the busiest right now and I honestly don’t want to ask him for help.”

“But that’s how Miss Ren came to be in this state in the first place! She didn’t want to ask _you_ for help and overworked and over-worried herself because _she_ thought you wouldn’t help her! Just ask Magnus for help and we can get this board all cleaned up for her.” Angus had a good point, and Taako was inclined to agree. The elf sighed. 

“Fine. It’s on the kitchen counter. Call the man for all I care,” he sighed glumly, knowing when he’d been defeated. 

Angus ran to get the stone and came back to the room with Magnus on the line. He gently scrubbed chalk off of the old board as he explained that Ren required assistance, immediately, though not specifying what kind of assistance was needed, and to bring one of his dogs for emotional support. He made it sound very urgent, panic in his voice as he asked the man to come quickly. Then the line went dead.

“Okay, Sir! Our friend is on his way!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not really sure what to write here, but thanks for reading! <3 ya!


	5. Fur

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Johann is soft

Magnus Burnsides, carpenter turned savior turned dog trainer, hesitated outside of Ren’s house, not quite ready for what could be inside. After a moment, and a gentle nudge from his dog, Johann, he attempted to steel his nerves, opened the door, and rushed in.

“I’mherewhat’swrongwho’shurt?” he spat out as he launched into the house, dog in tow. The man stumbled as Taako came into the front room wearing an apron with a bottle of glue in hand.

“Oh good! You’re here! Now you can help us while your dog helps Ren!” he exclaimed, clearly excited at Magnus’s flustered state. 

“What am I here for, exactly?” Magnus asked once he caught his breath.

“We need you to help us make paper snowflakes and glue glitter on stuff. You know, the usual.”

It was not the usual.

“Angus said it was an emergency!” the human accused.

“I NEVER SAID IT WAS AN EMERGENCY, SIR! I SAID IT WAS URGENT! THERE’S A DIFFERENCE!” the aforementioned child called from the other room.

Magnus sighed. 

Taako tried coaxing Johann over to him with a magically produced treat. The dog looked up at Magnus, who just patted his head, and then he walked over and claimed the treat from Taako’s hand. The wizard took the dog’s leash and led him into the living room, where a dark elf woman was sitting unmoving on the couch. 

“Hey, Ren?,” Taako asked softly. “I’ve found you a friend to keep you some company while you sit here.” He motioned towards the Scottish deerhound. “This is Johann. He’s a good boy and his head is really soft. Good for petting. Mind if he sits with you?” He noticed Ren’s head move slightly up, then down, then up again. A yes to the dog. So the dog hopped onto the couch and laid his head in the tired woman’s lap.

Taako then left, realizing it was about time for dinner, explaining the exact tasks to be done to Magnus. 

Meanwhile, on the couch, the weight of Johann’s head on Ren’s lap brought her back down to earth. She blinked, looked down warily, and noticed the adorable face of the dog on the couch. She regained control of her limbs and gently placed a hand on the dog’s head. The fur was so soft! Her eyes softened at the sensation of Johann’s fur on her hand. 

Johann felt the hand on his head and snuggled into Ren some more. At this, the dam broke and all the feelings Ren had had in the last week came in one big wave that crashed into her and threatened to drown her if she held them in. So she let go. And she cried. 

Ren had liked to think of herself as strong, independent, and self-sufficient, needing no help whatsoever type, but the realization that that was a facade hit her like a train. She wept enough tears to fill a bathtub and wept some more, feeling the release of a thousand emotions wash over her and settle over her as a big blanket of warmth. 

  
  


With the release of all those negative emotions, Ren felt a new flood of emotions rush in. It was like a thousand hugs, piles and piles of warm blankets to hold, or eating a treasured comfort food on a not so good day. Warmth. Love. Friendship. Soft dog fur under her hand.

She sat there, tear streaks on her face, petting Johann until she felt she could get up and help her friends, HER FRIENDS, with whatever they were doing. And then Taako walked in with a steaming tray of food. She moved to get up, but he looked at her like she wasn’t allowed to get off the couch just yet.

“We’ve got grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup for dinner, salad to lighten the load, and some warm tea. I hope you’re fine with chai, because that’s the first one I grabbed from your shelf,” the elf explained, looking both apologetic and in control of things, somehow. “Today was a cold one, so I’m hoping the soup does the trick.”

And it does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and leaving kudos!   
> I know things are crazy right now, but I'm here for y'all and it's going to be okay. No matter what happens, you're going to make it through this.   
> <3 ya!


	6. Heaven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we see things from Johann's perspective

He had come to this person’s big peoplehouse with his owner and bestest friend, Magnus, and then saw another bestest friend, the elf. Taako, if he remembered right.

Yeah. That was the one who always had treats in his hand for Johann. 

But he did not know this peoplehouse. He had never been here before. Nor had he ever met the person who lived in it, as far as he could tell. Taako offered his hand with a treat and Johann took it, but only when Magnus told him it was okay. Then the elf grabbed his leash and then they were in front of a couch.

It smelled old. 

The person on the couch did not.

Taako talked to the person, in a small voice, then let Johann get on the couch. He had been trained to help people if his master Magnus said so, and apparently he’d said so, and Johann was glad to help. This person in a bundle of blankets needed the comfort he could provide, so he settled down and laid his head on their lap.

Johann felt a hand on his head, absentmindedly moving in small motions. It felt so good. The fingers moved gently against his scalp and he was in heaven. Yeah. This is it, Johann decided. This, and treats, and Magnus, was heaven.

He settled into this person’s touch and started to fall asleep, and then he smelled something good moving closer and closer. Taako walked in with a tray of peoplefood and Johann’s ears perked up. If they were eating, he would be eating as well! 

Johann rose smoothly, well, as smooth as a Scottish deerhound could, and padded over to what he assumed was the foodroom. And then he saw The Boy!

The Boy was here!

THE BOY WAS HERE!

The Boy was one of his favoritest bestest friends.

He ran over to The Boy, supposedly named Ango, as the child knelt down to pet him. The Boy said something in Peoplespeak, but he could only understand his name, which sounded good coming from The Boy. His tail wagged as the hands on him rubbed and scratched and made Johann feel so good. So loved.

He had been wrong before.

THIS was Heaven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank y'all for reading!  
> I know it's scary out there, so be nice to yourself.  
> <3 ya!


	7. Lopsided

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Ren gets flustered

When Ren finished her food, she stood up to put the dishes in the sink. There she was met with the sight of a paper and glitter explosion and already packaged leftovers on the counter. She looked over at the kitchen table, at which Magnus, Taako, and Angus were hard at work in an assembly line of sorts. 

She smiled. They’d made her dinner and were now hard at work making paper snowflakes, but not without a lot of laughter and joking.

Angus folded and cut the snowflake designs, handed them to Taako, who then applied glue to the paper before gently passing them to his right for glitterfication. It was quite a sight to witness a gleeful Magnus Burnsides dump handfuls of the sparkly stuff onto the sticky glue like a child. He was clearly enjoying the activity, and his delight was contagious. Ren smiled and chuckled at the sight before her.

Magnus looked up, giving her his signature lopsided smile, meeting her eyes for just a second too many, then averting his gaze quickly before he went back to glittering it up with Taako right next to him. (Actually, with Taako _ left _ next to him, if one were to be technical about it.)

Ren blushed a little, and, hoping he hadn’t seen that, hurriedly put her dishes in the  **_dirty_ ** dishes sink, rinsing them haphazardly before placing them in the  _**rinsed** _ dishes sink. She’d had to label them when she moved in because she kept forgetting which was which, and she had to reread the labels in her current flustered state so she didn’t mess things up.

Oh gods, she really hoped she hadn’t messed things up.

“ _ Why did he have to smile at me like that? Was he doing it on purpose? Nonsense. He smiles like that to everyone. Why is he even here?” _ she thought. “ _ He doesn’t even know me all that much! He’s probably just here for Taako, because Taako told him to come here. That’s it. Or is it? _ ” Ren pushed that last thought away immediately, locking it deep in her Mind Dungeon until she could write out whatever she was feeling into her journal.

Taking a few calming breaths, she prepared to exit the kitchen and go back to her checklist of tasks to be done for the Candlenights celebration in just a few days.

When she got to her storage/craft/school room, she was surprised to see it all tidied up. Gone were the piles of odds and ends haphazardly strewn everywhere. All her Candlenights stuff was arranged nicely instead of in the heap she’d shoved the bags into when she’d gotten home from the shops the other day. Even the chalkboard had been erased and neatly rewritten. It was like she was in a completely different room from the one she had when she left for work the morning before.

“Do you like it, Ma’am? Taako and I did it ourselves! I guess he felt bad about asking you to do everything without considering how you felt and just decided to help you out,” Angus admitted from the doorway. “We’ve finished up making the snowflakes for the party, by the way. I know what’s next, but I think you should take control of things from here on out, if you’re up to it, Miss Ren.”

Ren turned, then smiled a soft smile at the boy now in front of her. 

“Thank you, Angus. This means so much to me. But right now I have to jot some stuff down and then I’ll be back to take over. Can you guys handle the next thing on the list by yourselves?”

“Sure thing, Ma’am!” The little boy turned to leave and Ren let out a relieved sigh.

Finally, she had the help she needed all along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter basically wrote itself, so it's a bit self-indulgent and I kinda maybe sorta put together a new ship and I hope that's okay with y'all. Magnus's smile was the first thing I could think of. And it's not gonna be the focus of the entire thing, don't worry.
> 
> And, hey, I know it's hard right now, but we're gonna get through this together.  
> <3 ya!


	8. Cookie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Angus tells the truth

While Angus was out of the room checking on Ren, Taako and Magnus cleaned up the glittery mess they’d made in the pursuit of crafting. 

“So, Mags, what’s going on between you and Ren here?” Taako pried with only a slight joking tone to his voice. “I thought you only had eyes for Julia.” 

Magnus was surprised at the hint of sincerity in his best friend’s voice. 

“Um… It’s nothing. Really. I loved - love- Julia. I wouldn’t want to betray her memory, but I get lonely, and she’s a nice person, and Jules would like her, I think. It’s a bit early to tell if she sees me as anything more than Mister Savior of the World, or The Visitor, or…” He trailed off, suddenly becoming very preoccupied with getting all this glitter into the dustpan. 

“Uh huh. Sure. Got it. Are you ever going to say something, or do you plan to just pine away with sad puppy dog eyes like a doofus?” That earned him a glare from Magnus. “Okay, fine. I’ll leave it alone. But if you don’t do anything about it soon, I will.”

Magnus hurried through the rest of the cleanup and plopped down on one of the kitchen chairs. It wobbled and he made a mental note to fix the chair at the next opportunity. Or take it with him when he left later and fix it right away. He didn’t want Ren to be down a chair if it suddenly broke on her.

“Let’s talk about something else. Like, say, dessert! Dinner was great and all, but I’m really feeling like some good old snickerdoodle cookies right now,” the human said hungrily. “I’ll even help you make ‘em!”

“If it’ll keep you occupied, then, hells yeah my dude! Let’s bake some cookies!”

…

Meanwhile, Ren was running through her checklist in her head as the boy detective walked away. Then she remembered something.

“Angus, wait!” she called out down the hall. The kid rounded the corner and reentered her line of sight. 

“Yes, Ma’am?”

“I just wanted to ask: how, exactly, did you and Taako come to be staying at my house? Y’all weren’t very clear on that front.” 

“Oh… Uh… Taako told me not to say anything, but, since you asked, and since little boys aren’t supposed to lie, I guess I can tell you.” He cast Zone of Truth, which Ren thought was a little overkill. 

Until he started speaking.

“Mister Taako was giving me another magic lesson, in which we were attempting to Blink. But I couldn’t do it. I tried and tried, but it was no good! I thought I’d failed at using magic forever! So, and I don’t know how, Taako gave me a little boost in magic and all of a sudden, the apartment building was gone! GONE! There were a couple things of ours on the ground, but the entire building Blinked instead of just us. All the stuff we have right now is stuff we retrieved from Miss Lup’s place.” As he finished telling the tale of how they got to be in this situation, he hung his head in shame. “And now that you know, you’re gonna hate us and Mister Taako is gonna be mad at me and not want anything to do with me because I disobeyed him.”

Ren felt sorry for the kid. He shouldn’t have to worry about this kind of stuff, especially about losing the love of a guardian over a mistake they both made. She reached out to put a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, now. Everything’s going to be okay. I’m not mad that you guys did something stupid like Blinking an entire apartment building away. That’s actually quite impressive! Shows that you have a lot of power! But you guys should have told me when you arrived last night. No need to dance around dumb things like that. Now, I smell something good cooking. Let’s go see what it is.”

…

“Hey, guys! What smells so good?” Ren asked as she entered the kitchen.

“Cookies!” Magnus said beaming, holding out a plate of very hot snickerdoodle cookies.

“Huh. Didn’t think you were a cookie person, but here we are. Aren’t cookies like this a bit under your pay grade, Taako?” she asked as she gingerly grabbed a cookie from the plate in front of her.

“You’ll be singing a different tune when you try one,” the elf chimed in.

“Okay. But first… HOW DO YOU BLINK AWAY AN ENTIRE _FUCKING_ BUILDING?!?” Ren shrieked. She saw Taako go a little paler at that accusation.

“Cookie?” Magnus offered again, sensing some tension he didn’t want to be in the middle of. She took a second cookie. Now she had two. She bit into the first one and was quite pleased at the taste, but still wanted to make Taako squirm, so she didn’t show it.

“Ango, how could you?” Taako asked incredulously. “I told you to keep quiet about that. Not everyone has to know about it.”

“Well, she asked, and we didn’t give a straight answer last night. I felt guilty so I told her about it. Please don’t hate me, Sir,” he whimpered. The elf could sense that his magic boy was on the verge of tears and walked up to him with a cookie in hand.

“I don’t hate you, Ango Dango. I could never hate you. You’re my little magic boy. Have one of these and go calm down,” he said gently, giving Angus the cookie in his hand.

The kid sat down on another chair and Magnus heard it squeak. He winced.

“That’s it. Ren, I’m sorry, but you either need to fix these chairs or get new ones. They’re going to fall apart and someone’s going to get hurt,” the man said, very concerned about the safety of the wooden furniture that she probably thrifted.

“Do you wanna take them? Maybe bring them back when you’ve repaired them?” she asked. The look on his face was one of sheer delight. He nodded, then took a look at his bare wrist as if he were checking a watch. 

But he didn’t even own a watch.

“Oh would you look at that! I have to get going! Come on, Johann!” he called. The dog stood and walked towards the door. Magnus stacked the two faulty chairs and hoisted them into his big arms before grabbing the dog’s leash and walking out the door.

“Bye, everyone! Thanks for giving me something to do! I’ll have these back to you ay-ess-ay-pee! ‘Night!”

...

Meanwhile, in the Astral Plane, Kravitz had a headache. 

A big, apartment building sized headache. 

Doing a ton of paperwork to return his boyfriend’s apartment building (and its inhabitants) back to the Prime Material Plane without any issues was not something that’d been on his schedule for that day. He didn’t know how it came to be in this state, but they certainly had something to talk about the next time they saw each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all, I had some idea of how the living situation described in chapter two was gonna be explained, but I didn't know exactly what was gonna happen. I absolutely envisioned a bare foundation with pipes sticking out of it like the building had been torn out of the ground, with Taako and Angus just standing there, like, "What the hell did we do?" And then I came up with this.
> 
> And, I know it's stressy out there, but we're gonna be all good in the end. And if you need it, I'll be there holding your hand.  
> <3 ya!


	9. Wool

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the scarf is soft

“Okay, what did you guys get done while I was… out?” Ren asked.

Taako gestured to a giant pile of glittery paper snowflakes. Angus showed her a similarly sparkly welcome banner, as well as a pile of slightly less shiny garlands made of paper loops. And then swept his hand around the house.

“We tidied up a bit because a messy place makes for a messy brain and we thought you could use a break,” said the boy. “We didn’t touch any of your stuff though. Just the stuff that needed moving.”

“Good! I didn’t wanna have to hurt you two.” She’d been joking when she said that earlier, but they didn’t know that.

Right then, their stones of farspeech lit up.

A robotic voice warned them about the blizzard that was going to hit the town at any moment. Most of the time, warnings like that never came to fruition. But the trio looked out the window and saw the doom impending clouds light in the otherwise dark night sky. They exchanged glances of worry.

“I wonder if Magnus is going to get home alright,” Ren remarked. 

“He better! Considering that dog of his is trained to do almost anything, he should be able to lead our friend home if necessary,” Taako assured her. A weight she hadn’t realized was there lifted off her chest.

…

Ren sat in the chair set in the corner of her room, drinking a tea that usually calmed her down before she had to meditate for the night, but calm was the last thing that she felt. She’d been tidying up from her brief dissociative stint in the living room and she noticed a scarf that had been tossed on the arm of the couch. 

A scarf that wasn’t hers.

It was red, with a nice woven rhombus pattern knitted into it. The scarf looked well loved and was so soft she could cry. Taako had said the material it was made from was wool, and that it definitely wasn’t his. He would never leave a part of his ensemble lying around like that. It wasn’t Angus’s, for he marked all his clothing items with specially made tags so they wouldn’t get stolen while he wasn’t wearing them (yes, it’s happened). 

So it had to be Magnus’s wool scarf. 

Yep.

Definitely.

It smelled like pine and sawdust and lacquer. Just like Ren would think the man’s scent would be, if she thought about it at all. Which she most definitely did not. Ever.

  
She put it round her neck and immediately felt warmth. “ _ So this is what sheep feel all the time. Must be nice _ ,” she thought. She gained some comfort from handling the scarf, which quieted her mind enough for her to fall into trance at the drop of a hat, dreaming of snowfall and warm smiles, unbothered by anything in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I imagined the scarf in this chapter as the one in this [ shop listing ](https://www.livemaster.com/item/29148781-knitted-men-s-scarf-boston-100-procent-wool) right here.
> 
> Angus’s grandfather started sewing the tags into all the kid’s clothing after about the third incident of his clothes being stolen while swimming with friends. The tags read “Property of Angus McDonald, World’s Greatest Detective. DO NOT STEAL”
> 
> Thanks for reading this far! I'm not sure I've stuck with a daily creative challenge this long ever. I appreciate the kudos and comments left here. You have no idea how much it means to me that people like what I've made. And, hey. I know it's hard, and that seasonal depression is hitting, or about to hit, hard right now, but It's going to be just fine. I know it is. <3 ya!


	10. Perplexed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Magnus is nice

Ren awoke to a world wreathed in white.

Hot chocolate in hand, she turned to Taako. “Guess we’ll have to call it a snow day, huh?” The elf man nodded. She started to reach for her stone of farspeech, but he stopped her hand midway.

“Don’t. I’ll get Brad to do it. Let’s just focus on the lovely weather and Candlenights stuff, okay?” It was her turn to nod. Then they both returned to watching the snow through the window.

Soon enough, they saw a broad figure heading towards the house, dragging a sled piled high with indeterminable objects. It was coming down too hard for them to distinguish who the figure was, but that was cleared up when a dog bounded up to the front door.

“Wouldja look at that! Good ol’ Maggie has returned!” Taako exclaimed, throwing the door open. He let the man inside as Ren shrieked “SHUT THE DOOR! IT’S COLD!” Johann ran inside as soon as the door opened, bounding towards Angus, who was curled up in blankets on the couch reading a book. It was no Caleb Cleveland novel, but it was interesting, so he kept reading, even as the dog jumped on him.

“Johann! Down!” Magnus called. The dog sat back on his haunches at his owner’s commands. “Sorry, Ango. He can get a little excited.” The boy mumbled something that sounded like a thanks, then went back to reading. “Oh! I have to get your chairs from outside! I’ll be right back!”

Ren was surprised at how fast he got the chairs fixed up. She was perplexed. “ _He took them just last night and it’s barely nine in the morning! Did he stay up late to finish them? Who knows?_ ” she thought. (Hint: Magnus knew.)

As the strong human hauled in a couple chairs, Ren remembered that she had his scarf, so she ran to get it for him. He would be needing it if he was going back home in this cold weather. She hurried back into the living room as Magnus headed out to get the rest of the things he’d left on his sled.

They bumped into each other.

“Ope! Sorry! Didn’t see you there!” Magnus exclaimed at the same time as Ren mumbled “Gotta watch where I’m going,” as she lowered her head. She offered up the scarf in her hands.

“I believe you left this yesterday,” she said sheepishly, still not daring to meet his eyes. He took the scarf and put it around her neck with gentle hands.

“You keep it, ‘til you don’t need it anymore. I can always make another one, though I’m not as good at knitting as… she… was.” Ren looked up at a face furrowed with the beginnings of sadness. Then it was replaced with an expression she couldn’t quite place. His hand went up to rub the back of his neck. “I-i-it’s okay if you feel sorry for- for- you know,” and all of a sudden, Ren felt a pang in her chest for the man in front of her.

“Hey, it’s fine. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t wanna. You know where to find me if you do.” With that, she made her way into the kitchen while Magnus headed back outside. She had no idea what that pang in her chest meant, but it made her feel a little bit warmer towards the human.

Suddenly, she heard a scraping sound coming from outside. She ran over to the front window and saw a jacket-clad Magnus shoveling snow from the sidewalk. Against her better judgment she opened the door and yelled out at him, to ask what he was doing. He just held up the snow shovel and grinned. Ren shook her head and shut the door. How could someone who barely knew her do such kind things for her? She was perplexed yet again. “I’ve never known someone who would go out of their way like that for me,” she thought.

Or at least, she thought she did.

Apparently, she’d said that last part aloud, because Taako replied with “Yeah, that’s Magnus for ya. He just likes doing things for people. His damn ‘rustic hospitality’ and whatnot.”

“Oh”

So he was just nice. That’s what that was. No need to overthink it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, y'all! Thanks for sticking with me so far, and for your comments and kudos. I appreciate it. And, look, I know the world's a scary place at the moment, but that doesn't have to keep you from enjoying it. Enjoy the small things, like the feeling of a warm mug full of your favorite autumn/winter drink, or how pigeons walk everywhere even though they have wings, or the color of the leaves on your favorite tree changing for the seasons. I hope you enjoy something today. <3 ya!


	11. Spoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Magnus is dumb

“Anything’s a spoon if you try hard enough,” Magnus claimed, nonchalantly bringing another ladle full of soup to his lips. Taako, usually here for this, looked appalled.

“That doesn’t mean you have to grab the serving utensil!” Taako shouted, pointing at the obvious lack of said utensil in the pot on the stove. 

“But there were no more spoons in the silverware cup!” He waved his free arm towards a cup by the Dirty dishes sink, oblivious to the unclean state of the utensils held inside.

“You do know I have a drawer for silverware, right? That’s just the cup I put used silverware and other utensils in so they don’t fall into the sink drain,” Ren chuckled, leaning her head in one hand in disbelief.

“Yeah. You saw me grab my spoon from the drawer yourself, Sir,” Angus chimed in. Magnus put the comically large ladle back in his bowl precariously as his hands fell into his lap, head down, embarrassed.

“Oh,” he said bashfully, realizing his mistake. “Sorry I’m an idiot.”

“You’re not an idiot, Sir. Everyone has little moments like that. Take the other day, for example. Mister Taako and I were out get-” 

“Angus, we don’t talk about that day. It was not a good look for me,” Taako interrupted. 

“But, Sir! It shouldn’t have taken you that long to realize you were on the wrong escalator!” Angus protested.

“Well, I figured it out eventually, didn’t I?” the wizard shot back. Ren was trying to stifle her laughter, but she looked across the table at Magnus’s shocked expression and lost it. She burst out laughing. “Well, looks like _one_ of us is in a good mood today.” 

“I’m sorry,” she wheezed between fits of laughter. “But… how in the… world do you… get on… the wrong escalator?”

“I wasn’t paying attention, because, naturally, talking to my _extremely attractive_ reaper boyfriend is very distracting!” 

“You had a kid with you! He could have been taken!” Magnus spit out. The safety of their favorite child, Angus McDonald, was nothing to joke about. 

“But he didn’t!” Taako retorted at the same time Angus said “I can defend myself, Sir.” Taako gestured to his friends. “SEE? HE CAN TAKE CARE OF HIMSELF! Now, shut up and enjoy the roasted butternut squash soup I slaved over so you could eat.”

They silently agreed to drop the argument and went back to eating their soup, loud slurping sounds coming from Magnus and his ladle-spoon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, y'all! Here's a fresh new update for ya!
> 
> The soup they're eating is [this one right here](https://www.nospoonnecessary.com/roasted-butternut-squash-soup/)
> 
> And, hey, I know it may be tough right now, but it'll get better soon. Be kind to yourself, okay?  
> <3 ya!


	12. Happy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which they play cards

It had been a long time since Ren had been happy. 

Really, truly happy. 

But there she was, sitting on the couch after dinner with her friends, actual friends, playing card games and laughing at their stories and jokes. Ren hadn’t had the happiest of childhoods, and adulthood was harder. Growing up in the Underdark was not an easy feat, nor was it conducive to mental stability. 

But ever since she’d found out about Taako’s traveling cooking show, she had something to be excited about. 

Here, in her home, sat friends she’d made fairly recently (a blink ago in the lifespan of elvenkind), and she was glad they wanted to spend time with her. She’d never laughed nearly as hard at something as she did when Lup stood and did her best Taako impression during a lull in the game.

“Look at me! I’m Taako, you know, _FROM TV!_ ” came Taako’s voice from Lup’s mouth. “Hey, thug! What’s your name? I’m about to tentacle your dick!” she imitated, swinging her arm towards her husband, who was cracking up at her routine. He’d seen her do this exact same thing several times before, but it got him every time. “I eat old dead dudes with my Umbrella,” she finished. Then she sat down.

“I miss my Umbrella,” Taako sighed.

“More than you missed me, doofus?” his twin asked.

“Well, I didn’t know you existed, goofus!” he retorted. She couldn’t deny that. 

Lup moved towards her brother as if to tackle him, but picked up her hand of cards instead. “Barold, honey, dearest, love of my life and undeath, got any sixes?”

“Go fish!” chimed the amused human man, shifting his glasses with a finger. He did indeed have a couple sixes.

“Liar!” his wife shouted. “I know you too well to be fooled by your tells.” 

“Drat! Over a hundred years and I still can’t fool the great Lup Bluejeans,” he fake pouted. Ren chuckled. They were cute together. If only she had someone she could be like that with. 

She was torn from her thoughts by a gruff “Got any eights?” from Magnus. She handed over the cards. “Thank you!” the man said in a sing-songy voice as he plucked the cards from her fingers. She giggled at the sudden change in the guy. “Aaaand… I win!” he said, splaying all his cards on the table triumphantly. “Now Taako owes me a batch of macarons!”

The rules were simple. It was the card game Go Fish, but with bets, of a sort. Everyone put something in the winner’s pool and the winner would get to pick one to claim at the end of the game. Taako put in an offer of homemade macarons. Ren threw in a coupon for a mixed drink of the winner’s choosing. Magnus offered to carve a wooden duck. Lup put up an entire bottle of wine while Barry countered with a bottle of whisky. They were going to play until all the prizes were taken. 

That is, until Lup and Barry suddenly had reaper business to take care of. They gave hurried goodbyes and hugs, including to Ren, and thanked her for inviting them over for dinner and fun. Ren smiled and nodded, genuinely happy that she had more people to hang out with. 

Once they were off, it was just Taako, Magnus, and Ren sitting in the living room amongst the wreckage of their Go Fish game. They started cleaning up and amidst everything, they found that Doctor and Doctor Bluejeans left their bottles of alcohol. Taako held them up and waggled his eyebrows.

Magnus took this as his time to leave.

“Usually, Taako, I’d be up for a bit of a drink, but I don’t want to overstay my welcome and I’ve gotta get going if I’m gonna get home before the storm starts up again.”

“Ugh! Fine, party pooper,” Taako huffed, putting the bottles on the kitchen counter. “Just go, then. Leave me all alone, with no one else to care for me in this world.” 

“Taako, it’s not like that and you know it. You’re just being dramatic. Now, where’s my dog?”

“I think he followed Ango to bed.” Magnus walked over to the room in which the boy was sleeping and gently opened the door.

“Johann,” he whispered. “C’mere boy.” He patted his leg and the dog jumped off the bed, where he was cuddling with the little boy, and padded over to his owner. “Good boy.”

…

With his sled all packed up and ready to go, he hugged Taako, who made a face as if he didn’t enjoy it, but Ren knew he did. He went to hug her, but stopped midway as he realized he didn’t know her that well and he definitely didn’t know what level of touch she was comfortable with. So he settled with a fist bump and nod as she thanked him for all his help the last couple of days. He blushed, but neither elf could tell as it was very cold out on the porch and the wind was biting at their skin.

Taako and Ren fled to the safety of the indoors as they watched their big burly friend and his dog start walking home from the window.

“He’s a good guy,” Taako sighed.

“Yup,” Ren agreed.

“Very nice, too.”

“Uh huh.”

“Also good looking.”

“Yeah… Wait, what?” Ren asked, shocked that she’d fallen for that trick.

“HA! I KNEW IT!” Taako shrieked. “You liiike Maaagnuus! Yooouu liiiiike Maaagnuuussss!” he sang. The female elf’s hand suddenly made contact with his head. “Ow!” 

She grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all, just take care of yourselves. Can you do that for me?  
> <3 ya!


	13. Mix

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Ren helps Taako bake

“But, Taako, I don’t have almond flour! Just how are you going to make macarons without your precious almond flour?” Ren inquired, pacing around her kitchen. 

“How are WE going to make macarons,” Taako corrected. “You’re helping me make them. Ango would, but he’s busy watching Merle’s spawn today. Something about a date with Davenport or something like that. So you get to help me.” He started gathering the things he needed to mix together the ingredients. “And don’t worry about the almond flour. Taako’s got it covered.”

Ren handed him the dry ingredients he'd requested, including some plain all purpose flour, everything already measured out for ease of use.

“Watch this!” He stuck his finger into the bowl of flour and it changed in color and texture. “Ta da! It’s now almond flour. You’re welcome!”

She’d forgotten that transmutation magic was his specialty. “ _I know I said ‘no magic in the house,’ but that was cool,_ ” she thought to herself.

“Come over here and sift these two together, will ya?” Taako half-asked, half-ordered. He shoved the bowls of almond flour and confectioner’s sugar towards Ren and handed her a sifter. “Do it a little bit at a time or you’ll ruin it.” He placed a bowl in front of her to sift into. “You’ve gotta do it a couple times to make sure it’s as fine as possible, or the top won’t be smooth. I’ll beat the egg whites.” 

“Got it. Wait. Why are we doing this, again?” Ren asked.

“Because Magnus beat us at Go Fish and wanted me to make him macarons.”

“Ah. Right. Now I remember.”

“By the way, what’s going on between you and Magnus?” he questioned.

“Um... what? Nothing’s going on! I swear!”

“Suuure. I believe you… NOT! Now spill!” He looked at her with the most intimidating look he could muster. She squirmed underneath his gaze. How could he be that intimidating while mixing eggs?

Ren huffed.

“I just… He’s just… Look, he’s super nice and strong and fun and I just wanna be around him all the time,” she admitted. “And yesterday was just… a lot… I tried to return his scarf and he told me to keep it. He put it around my neck himself. Then… Then he started shoveling my driveway. I don’t even have a vehicle! I walk everywhere! He didn’t have to do that!” She’d stopped sifting at that point. “I’ve never really been on the receiving end of such actions before, and it feels… lovely.”

“Mhm, that’s nice. Keep working. Are you gonna do anything about it?” Taako asked nonchalantly, working the superfine sugar into the egg white mixture. 

“I don’t… I don’t see anything coming from it, if there’s anything going on at all. Like you said, he’s just nice and does things for people,” Ren rationalized.

“His late wife made him that scarf. I don’t think he’d give it away to just anyone,” the male elf stated plainly. “Especially not someone he felt ‘just nice’ towards.” 

"Oh," came a small voice. 

They worked in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes until Taako was ready to incorporate the sugar-almond flour mixture he'd had Ren prepare. The other elf went into the living room to sit and wait as Taako finished up his baking preparations. 

… 

"They're readyyyyy!" Taako sang from the kitchen, already waltzing into the room with a small plate in hand. He stooped down to wave the plate around at Ren's eye level as she sat reading a light novel. "Try one!" 

Ren grabbed one of the two macarons from the plate in front of her. She took a bite, and about died from the sheer awesomeness of the small confection. 

"How did you get the flavor like that? Root beer barrels don't come in cookie form!" she wondered aloud. 

"It's all in the filling, babyyyy," proclaimed Taako, proud as hell. 

He put his hand up for a high five. 

Ren did not leave him hanging. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to look up how to make macarons for this one and now I wanna try it sometime. I like eating them, but I have only attempted them once, and with the wrong kind of flour, so they turned out weird. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this one! Lemme know what you think!
> 
> And, hey, I hope things turn out well for you. You deserve it. You deserve the world.  
> <3 ya!


	14. Hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we see people do things

Ren's hands pinned banners and streamers to the wall of the school's multi-purpose room in preparation for the Candlenights party in a couple days. With the help of Taako, Angus, and Magnus, she'd gotten everything she needed for the party, the first in the school's short history, sooner than she'd ever thought she could herself.

Her hands smoothed out tablecloths and arranged snowflakes. She marveled at how beautiful those handmade decorations looked, and then remembered a certain smile attached to the memory of said decorations.

She blushed.

…

Angus turned the book over in his hands, unsure of its origins.

"'Grant Andrews: Kid Cop'? What is this? A 'Caleb Cleveland' knock-off? What do I look like, Garfield? A little kid?" He tried, and succeeded, to intimidate the creature in a cloak in front of him.

The tabaxi merchant, the local deals warlock and owner of the Fantasy Costco, wrung his hands nervously. "I'm sorry, sir. But that's the only kind of Kid Cop book we have." Angus's hand went to his wand, always on a lanyard around his neck, of course, and Garfield the Deals Warlock flinched. "Okay, I lied! There's some 'Caleb Cleveland: Kid Cop' books hidden in the back. I'll go get them for you!"

"Thank you, Sir!" the kid chimed, suddenly friendly again.

…

The reaper known as Kravitz flexed his hand a few times, trying to regain feeling in that one, before grabbing another pen and sighing. Of course the Raven Queen required paperwork filed in triplicate. Of course they didn’t have any means of copying any of the paperwork, so of course he had to file it by hand. And, _of course_ Taako had done the deed that caused such a nightmare for him. It was in his nature.

Oh, if only Kravitz could be holding his boyfriend’s hands instead of righting the mistakes of said boyfriend, cramping his own hand in the process. But alas, he wasn’t allowed to leave until all the paperwork was filled out and sent to the correct department.

It looked like it was going to be another long day for the reaper known as Kravitz.

…

A rough hand holding a carving knife scraped away another sliver of wood.

This had to be perfect, if it was going to be for her.

The hand holding the block of wood tightened its grip, turning the piece over so the knife could slice away any imperfections.

What if she didn’t like it?

What if she didn’t like _him?_

_**WHAT IF SHE DIDN’T LIKE DUCKS AT ALL?!?** _

At that thought, the hand with the knife slipped and sliced a big irreparable gash into the duck Magnus was carving. He swore under his breath and chucked that duck into the failed carvings/firewood bin. At the top of the bin were several discarded blocks of wood in varying stages of duckness. She’d been on his mind all morning, and it was apparently taking a toll on his work. Why was this so hard? He’d carved hundreds, maybe even thousands, of the aquatic birds in his time as a carpenter, so why was making one for Ren so damn hard?

He took a deep breath. Calming his nerves, he walked over to a pile of wood and inspected it, looking for the best looking piece. His hands picked it out of the pile.

Yes, perfect for a duck.

Perfect for Ren.

He walked back over to his work bench and sat down, picking up a carving knife with one hand.

“Okay, Magnus, we’re going to try this again,” he said to himself.

And he started over.

A rough hand holding a carving knife scraped away the first sliver of wood.

This was going to be perfect.

…

The hands of Lup and Barry Bluejeans were around the throats of two necromancers who’d previously been in the middle of a ritual summoning. The reapers’ scythes slashed into the two offending beings simultaneously, sending them to the Astral Plane in an instant.

“Good work, babe!” Lup grinned, holding up a hand for a high five. Her husband met the request and didn’t let go, pulling her in for a kiss. They kissed like that for a while, but then Lup’s ears picked up the sound of other necromancers running towards them. She broke the kiss as the footsteps came closer. “Uh, babe. We’ve got company!”

The pair assumed their fighting stances.

Barry adjusted his glasses, always ready for a fight.

Lup grinned, hands ablaze.

“Who’s ready for a reaping?”

…

Taako’s hands were messy. Turns out that getting batter everywhere does that.

He was baking treats for the Candlenights celebration. Being Taako, you know, from TV, he couldn’t NOT make all the desserts for his own school’s very first Candlenights party. But this recipe was kicking his butt so far.

Who knew Baumkuchen could be so hard to make?

At least, Taako should have known it was going to be hard. It wasn’t one of the hardest desserts to get right for nothing. And he was attempting to make miniature ones, enough for the whole school and then some, but it wasn’t turning out so well.

“...And I can’t use my transmutation magic because ‘No MaGiC iN tHe HoUsE!’” he mocked. “UGH! WHY IS THIS SO HARD!” His head was in his hands. “I’m Taako, from TV! I’m one of the Saviors of Faerun! I have a magic school! HOW CAN I NOT BAKE SIMPLE BAUMKUCHEN?!?!?” He removed his hands, seemingly just remembering that they were dirty. “AUGH! MY APARTMENT DOESN’T EXIST ANYMORE, MY BEST FRIEND IS IN LOVE WITH MY OTHER FRIEND, AND I CAN’T BAKE A FUCKING CAKE! MY LIFE’S A NIGHTMARE!”

Just then, his stone of farspeech buzzed. He answered it.

“Thanks for checking in on me. I’m still a pIeCe Of GaRbAgE,” he sang.

“Babe? Are you okay? I haven’t heard from you in a few days, but your apartment building is on the Raven Queen’s front lawn and Lup says you’ve been a bit too… quiet,” Kravitz explained.

“Lup doesn’t know what she’s talking about. I’m fine. Taako’s good out here,” the elf deflected.

He was not fine.

“Baaaabe. Taaaaako. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing!... I’ll tell you about it later, okay?”

“Okay, but you have to be completely honest with me-”

“Or it’s entrapment. I know. I know. But you’re at work, so go! Work hard, bone daddy!” He blew a kiss into the stone and ended the call with shaky hands. He had to get back to work if he was ever going to master these Baumkuchen.

Heading over to the sink, he washed his hands, cleared his station, and started over again.

The desserts were not going to get the best of Taako, from TV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to do a chapter that was more description than dialogue, so here's a study of hands and what people do with them.
> 
> "Grant Andrews: Kid Cop" is real and was written by a fifth grade Griffin McElroy. I believe it was the inspiration for Angus's favorite series. It can be found [on an old blog of his.](https://griffinriffs.wordpress.com/2009/07/26/grant-andrews-kid-cop-part-one/)
> 
> Baumkuchen is the cake-like dessert that looks like the rings of a tree, which is why the name translates to "tree rings" in German
> 
> And, hey, at least you haven't just been ejected off your spaceship for no reason. There was a reason. You were the Impostor. Or were you?  
> <3 ya!


	15. Fresh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which papers are graded

Ren came home to the smell of baked goods and some sort of forest scent. To her surprise, a small bush sat in the corner of the living room, atop the side table that used to sit between the couch and the armchair.

Suddenly, a small figure was standing in front of her.

“Welcome home, Miss Ren!” chirped Angus McDonald, Boy Detective. “I hope you don’t mind, but Mister Magnus and I picked out a Candlenights bush for you, since you are so busy you might not have time to go get one yourself. If that’s okay with you.”

“Aw, thanks, kid. I do actually have to grade papers even if there’s a snow day, or rather, a snow week, so I’m glad you remembered the Candlenights bush,” Ren said, resisting the urge to ruffle the kid’s hair. She headed to her room to take another look at the stack of papers she had to grade. School work never ends when you’re the one doing the teaching.

…

Ren was so deep in papers that she almost didn’t hear the knock on her bedroom door.

“Yo, Ren. You up for some dinner? I made some croissaaaants,” Taako’s voice called through the door.

“Just a minute!” she replied, struggling to read one student’s handwriting. She had one pen tucked in her hair, another in her mouth, and a third in her hand, writing scores on papers and in gradebooks feverishly, as if the world would end if she didn’t get these finished right away. She’d been putting schoolwork on the back burner for a few days and it was starting to bother her.

Eventually, she had all the papers finished up and grades put in the gradebook, but by that time, the chance for a warm meal had come and gone. She opened the door to go to the kitchen and there was a plate of food just sitting there. Taako must have left it for her when she didn’t come out to eat.

She picked it up. The food was cold. She sighed.

“One more microwaved meal for me,” she muttered under her breath.

Ren walked into the kitchen holding the plate of cold food, subconsciously drifting towards the microwave, when Taako snatched the dish out of her hand.

“Nuh uh! No reheating food while you have a professional chef in the kitchen!” He pulled another plate from the cupboard and fixed her a fresh plate of food, still warm from being kept on the stove. “Here.” He shoved the plate at her, making stern eye contact. “Eat this, not that. You need a good hot meal, especially at this time of year.” 

Ren took the dish and sat down, unintimidated by the stare down Taako gave her. She took a bite and immediately felt a weight lift from her chest. Looked like she needed a break and some good home cooking after all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess what? If a character does something I think they would have to roll for to check if they did it, like in D&D, I actually roll a d20. And Ren just barely passed her Investigation check on that messy handwriting. She definitely passed the Intimidation check.
> 
> And, hey. You're not actually a trained dolphin in captivity, are you? If you are, that's slavery and absolutely is not okay. Maybe you should stage a coup d'etat. You don't deserve this treatment. And neither do the actual dolphins in captivity. Reach out and see what you can do to save the dolphins today.  
> <3 ya!


	16. Sing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which some caroling is done

Thursday, the penultimate day of school for the semester, ran relatively smoothly for Ren, which threw her off a bit. The snow had cleared and it was safe to reopen the schools, so Thursday and Friday were to be spent catching up on what they missed out on while they were stuck inside due to a natural weather phenomenon. 

Which wasn’t much, really. Just a couple small spells to practice over the winter break and the handing out of report cards. The students weren’t a hassle at all, which struck her as odd, until she remembered bits and pieces of her dissociative fugue from Monday and realized they were being easy on her on purpose, for which she was glad. Taako had even showed up to his own school for once. There was still so much to do for Friday’s after school party, but at least the setup she had done the day before was preserved as she had locked and tied the multi-purpose room doors closed.

When she got home that afternoon, Angus told her all about his day at Lucas Miller’s school and his idea for the three of them to go out Candlenights caroling after dinner. Ren wasn’t too sure about that idea, but couldn’t say no to the cute kid before her. So they decided to ambush Taako with this plan when he got home from the school.

…

“Okay, gang. Let’s get started! It’s lovely to see you all, and I’m excited to see some new faces joining us tonight,” the gnome known as Davenport said cheerily. Taako huffed. He’d been dragged here against his will and had no intentions of actually singing, no matter who was there with him. “Now let’s figure out where we’re going and what we’re singing.”

After a few minutes of deliberation, they split into groups to ride to a neighborhood Ren had never noticed before, but it seemed vaguely familiar somehow. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, until…

“Hey! This is where Mister Magnus lives!” Angus chimed excitedly. “Maybe we’ll see him tonight!” The kid seemed super excited to go caroling, and even more so now that there was a chance they’d run into one of his favorite grownups.

…

A few houses in, Ren was already enjoying the whole ‘door-to-door singing’ thing, even if she didn't quite enjoy the 'cold winter night' part of it. She’d never thought of herself as a good singer, but she was happy to sing the Candlenights songs everyone knew by heart. And this wasn’t even for money! It was just for fun and to spread holiday cheer! She looked over at Taako and even he was enjoying himself! A Candlenights miracle!

They finished singing at one house and moved on to the next. Angus started to practically vibrate with excitement. Taako held his hand on the kid’s head to get him to stop. Ren had no idea why Angus was so excited until the door opened.

It was Magnus’s house. With Magnus himself in the doorway, holding a mug of something warm in his hands. He leaned on the door jamb as the carolers prepared their set. 

The group started singing and Ren faltered a little, realizing that she was in front of the man she… had some… sort of feelings for… singing carols like a fifth grader. She felt stupid. She probably looked stupid. Why did she let Angus talk her into this? Stupid.

Then she looked up and her eyes met Magnus’s. He smiled at her, and she looked back at the sheet music she held in a folder in front of her, feeling heat rise to her cheeks. She avoided any eye contact after that, glancing at the window or the door frame any time she looked up. She would look at anything but Magnus if it meant she wouldn’t feel humiliated.

Finally, to Ren's delight, they stopped singing and waved their goodbyes. 

As the rest of the group moved on, Magnus reached out and put a gold piece in Davenport's hand.

"Thanks, Cap. I needed that." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The choir kid in me is dying to get to a local community choir or something, anything, to sing in public again. But, alas, here we are, Pismo Beach and all the clams you can eat! Wait. This isn't it. This is 2020. 
> 
> I shoulda turned right at Albuquerque.
> 
> (Bonus points if you can tell me what that reference is from)
> 
> And, hey, I know it's sad and bad and mad outside, but it doesn't have to be sad and bad and mad inside. Be nice to yourself and your loved ones. Unless your loved ones hurt you. Then you're allowed to be sad and bad and mad. This message is brought to you by the ghost of Dr. Seuss.  
> <3 ya!


	17. Paw

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which it is sad bean hours

“Oh, Johann, what do I do?” Magnus sighed, sinking into the couch. The carolers had just left and Ren was among them, much to his dismay. “She should be here with me, where it’s warm. I should have asked her to come inside or something. I wanted to, but then she kept looking away so I couldn’t catch her eye again. I probably made her feel uncomfortable. Why do I do this? I fall for someone, then dance around it like an awkward teenager until I can’t afford to anymore.” His head was in his hands at this point. “I don’t even know if she likes me, Johann. What if I’m reading too much into this? Maybe I should just-”

A paw pressed into his lap. The dog it was attached to looked up at Magnus, almost worried.

Magnus looked into his dog’s eyes.

And then he remembered something from the day that changed the world. He remembered that there’s magic in a bard’s song. He remembered feeling hope as he heard the voidfish, Fisher and Junior, broadcast the song their favorite bard wrote. And he remembered a voice.

“You’re gonna have to fight and… you’re gonna win!” The bard Johann had been deceased for almost a year, and the world was poorer for it. But his memory still lived on, not erased, just as Magnus promised.

Magnus put his hand on the paw in his lap. “I know, Johann. I’m gonna fight. I’ll fight for her if I have to.” He teared up. “I wish you were here. You could be writing the world’s best songs by now.”

He scratched the dog’s head softly. Johann the dog looked at him again, and he could feel it. The bard had never really left. He’d been with them this entire time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for this smol bit of sad vibes. It had to happen sometime.
> 
> And, hey, I'm glad you showed up! It was getting lonely behind this little screen.  
> <3 ya!


	18. Balloon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the school party is a success

There were never meant to be this many balloons.

There had probably never been and probably never would be this many balloons in one place at one time.

There were so many balloons, it looked like a bubble bath had exploded into the multi-purpose room of Taako’s Amazing School of Magic.

Ren had used her tiny bit of break time at school to take a look at the preparations for the Candlenights party going on later in the day, and she could not believe her eyes.

Balloons.

So. Many. Balloons.

Roughly a million balloons in various colors absolutely covered the floor. She didn’t know how it happened, or where one could obtain this many balloons, but she was aghast at how they got there that fast. She’d locked AND tied the doors so no one could get in. 

HOW DID THEY GET THERE?

“Oh, hey, friendo! Fancy seeing you here!” Ren spun around at the sudden noise. Taako was standing a few feet behind her. “Like the balloons? I had Davenport whip ‘em up! It’s all illusory but it feels so real.”

“It seems a bit much. Maybe he could, like, tone it down a bit? Like, to only a hundred balloons?” 

“Okay, fine. I’ll ask him to tone it down.” He pulled his stone of farspeech from his pocket and called Davenport. If they were going to have a good celebration, it had to be just right.

…

The Candlenights party for the students was a success! 

Gifts were exchanged. Desserts were eaten. Songs were sung. It was perfect.

Taako was surprised at how put together it looked for how stressed Ren was a few days before. But he sure as hell had nailed those mini Baumkuchen. Each one turned out just perfectly, though Taako realized after the fact that he could have made a couple regular ones and cut them into small slices, but where’s the challenge in that?

…

Once the last trickle of students filed out the door, Ren let out a sigh of relief. The hard part was over. The semester was through and the party was thrown, and, therefore, she had nothing else to worry about. 

Well, except for the lie she’d told Taako to get him out of her house as soon as possible. Aaaaand the whole Magnus situation... As well as the fact that she was starting to get used to coming home to and waking up with people in her house. 

She was starting to forget what living alone was like, and she honestly didn’t miss it. She’d been around so many people this week that she was beginning to feel uncomfortable with the thought of being alone again.

As she nearly drifted off into her own thoughts, a balloon popped right in her ear.

“ _FUCK_ , Taako!” She heard a giggle behind her. “Why’d you do that? And why did you have an actual balloon? I thought they were all illusions!” The giggles grew to full on laughter. It went on for a bit, then died down.

“That was too funny!” Taako chuckled. “And you were getting way too deep in your thoughts there. Someone had to bring you out of it.”

“Well, thanks,” she said flatly. “Now, we gotta clean this all up and get home so we can eat _real_ food.”

“Hey! This was real food! And let Clint do it. He’s the janitor. Cleaning up is part of the job.”

“Okay, so let’s go.” Ren was just a couple steps behind Taako, so he didn’t see her stop to take a snowflake from one of the nearby tables and reverently place it in her bag.

“Oh, and by the way,” said Taako, now a bit ahead of her. “When is your family arriving?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The only single solitary balloon that wasn't an illusion was hidden in Taako's enormous hat.
> 
> Thanks for sticking with me this far. I know it may not seem like the best thing in the world, but if this quarantine/Panic Mode thing has given me anything, it's given me the time and inspiration to write things like this for people who'll actually see it. I appreciate you guys.
> 
> And, hey! Have you gained more teeth lately? Looks good on you!  
> <3 ya!


	19. Swell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Ren plays chess

Ren froze. 

He'd found her out. Surely he had. He wouldn't have said anything if he hadn't, right? 

"Oh. That…Yeah, I don't think they're actually coming this year. It's been a few years since I've seen them, but they must be busy," she lied. She didn't have any family. Not that she knew of. Except for the people of Refuge, but those weren't people she'd call 'family' like that. Acquaintances? Sure. Friends? Maybe. But family? No. 

" Ren, why didn't you say anything? I was worried we'd have to quickly find someone else to stay with until the whole apartment thing got patched up!" Taako sounded… not hurt, but more like he had been told his friend's family wasn't coming for Candlenights this year. At least, that's what Ren felt it was. They walked in silence out of the school and back towards Ren's house. Ren's  _ home.  _

The air turned cold without warning. Small white flakes gently fell from the sky, landing on their clothes and in their hair and on their eyelashes. Gusts of wind picked at their jackets and nipped at their ears, threatening to tear off Taako's hat or Ren's (gifted) scarf, but they held tight to their adornments, rendering the threat empty. 

The pair picked up the pace and they were back home in no time. They walked through the door to the sight of Angus McDonald, Smartest Kid They Knew, playing a game of fantasy chess against the Master Carpenter and Fighter, Magnus Burnsides. The older human was losing. Terribly. 

Ren's heart swelled at the sight of them playing together, bundled in blankets with cups of hot cocoa placed near them on the coffee table. She'd grown to love having them here. She almost wished the whole thing with Taako's apartment building wouldn't get fixed, so they wouldn't have to leave. But she knew that was wishful thinking. The building would pop back up any day now, and Ren had no idea how she’d deal with the sudden loss of company.

She was shaken from her thoughts by the rattle of wooden chess pieces clanging against various surfaces. She looked up just as Taako went to scold someone.

“Now, Magnus, is that how we behave when we lose?”

“No.” If the carpenter had a tail, it would have been between his legs.

“What do we say to poor Angus?” Taako certainly had the air of a parent right there.

“I’m sorry I ruined the chess game…” he said meekly. The child raised his head a little.

“That's okay, Magnu-"

"And I'll fucking do it again!" he laughed. 

"MAGNUS NO!" Taako looked so disappointed. 

"But this was the fourth game where he's beaten me like this! And I’ve only been here an hour!” Now it was Taako’s turn to glare at Angus.

“You know he’s not good at chess! Why challenge him when you know you can beat him in five moves?!” Taako chastised the boy for taking advantage of Magnus’s lack of chess ability.

“I was bored, Sir!”

“That doesn’t excuse shit! Say you’re sorry right now!”

The kid apologized, then took a sip from his mug of cocoa. “THERE’S A ROOK IN MY HOT CHOCOLATE!”

“Oh, no! How _ ever _ did it get there?” Magnus asked with as much sarcasm as he could muster. Ren was busy picking up the pieces the man had unceremoniously flung about the room.

“Hey, I challenge you to a game of chess,” Ren said, looking the man in the eye. “It’s been a while. I’m probably way out of practice, so you’ll probably be able to beat me.” She held her hand out for the hot chocolatey rook Angus had in his hand. 

After drying said rook, she set up all the pieces on the chess board and gestured for Magnus to sit across from her. 

“You okay with playing the white pieces?” the dark elf asked. Magnus nodded. “Okay then. It’s your turn. White goes first.”

Magnus nonchalantly moved his first piece. He moved a pawn from **f2** to **f4**. Ren countered with her pawn going from **e7** to **e5**. He had an opportunity to capture her pawn, but instead, he moved another pawn. He moved it from **g2** to **g4**. Big mistake right there. Ren smiled as she moved her queen from its position of **d8** to the spot directly next to Magnus’s last pawn: **h4**.

“Check, and mate,” she said, her pride swelling as she looked over the board at her two-move win. She’d worked hard to figure that one out, and it got newcomers almost every time. Magnus stared agape at the board.

“Wha-? How? Why?... How is that possible?” he asked, clearly confused, but impressed. 

“Oh, it’s simple. The queen can move anywhere vertically, horizontally, and diagonally, so there was no way of saving your king once you moved that second pawn. Sorry, Magnus, but that truly was fun.” Ren smiled. “Do it again, sometime?”

“Uh… yeah, I guess. Gotta learn how to beat Ango here, or I’ll never hear the end of it.” 

“Definitely,” Ren agreed. That man would be teased mercilessly for losing to a literal child, so she was going to help him get better at the game. No more, no less.

Unless...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was fun. I play chess against my friend a lot, so the chess stuff in this chapter is based on actual experiences I've had. It was very easy to figure out how to beat him in two moves.
> 
> And, hey! Those extra arms look great!  
> <3 ya!


	20. Trinket

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Bluejeanses host a party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! Two-thirds of the way through! The perfect point in which to set up some good stuff! I hope you enjoy this long chapter.

A few days later, it was finally time to celebrate Candlenights. This year, Barry and Lup were having a big get together at their house, and Ren was quite surprised to be invited. And then she felt panicked, because she had to buy presents for everyone. 

For Taako, she got an apron with some kooky saying on it that she knew he'd love. She got the newest Caleb Cleveland novel for Angus, happy to fuel the kid's growing library. Lup and Barry were getting a gift card for Fantasy Olive Garden. Kravitz was getting a new clasp for his reaper cloak in case the current one ever broke, because Taako said he's into practical stuff. She didn't really know Merle, Davenport, or Lucretia, so she got them gift cards for Fantasy Costco. It may have been a dumb idea, but that was the only place she knew of that had something for all three of them. The only present she hadn't figured out yet was Magnus's. 

"What would he even like? He's into woodworking, fighting, and dogs, as far as I know. What's a gift that isn't so personal that he'd know I like him but isn't so impersonal that he'd think that I don't care," she thought. "Wait a second. He said he could knit, right? Maybe I could… No. That's not a good idea either." She paced in her room, looking at the small pile of gifts she had already wrapped. She was stuck, and that was going to have to be okay. She had to get ready for the party anyway. 

… 

As they walked up to the Bluejeans household, they were greeted with the tackiest of yard decorations. Painted plywood cutouts of animals, snowflakes, Sasha the Candlenights Tiger, and gingerbread houses littered the lawn, every cutout decorated with some sort of small twinkling lights in various colors. An inflatable snow globe blew confetti around the little inflatable town contained within. Lights draped all over the house and across the yard blinked on and off in some sort of rhythm they couldn't quite figure out. Then Angus pointed out the sign with a fantasy radio station on it. 

"Oh no. They're THOSE people. I am ashamed," Taako said, feigning a fainting motion. "This is all Barold's doing. My sister would never put an inflatable ANYTHING in her front yard." At that, the front door opened and Barry Bluejeans smiled. 

"Nope! It was all Lup's idea!" he laughed, waving them inside. 

Taako pushed past the man, false rage plastered on his face as he went to find his twin. "Sister mine, what did you do to your front yard!" he shrieked. "It's absolutely atrocious!" Ren could see the woman absolutely doubled over laughing through the window. 

"You've never been here before, have you, Miss Ren?" Angus wondered aloud. She shook her head. "Okay! I'll give you the grand tour!" He took her hand and led her inside. 

After getting a tour of the house, which had five bedrooms, three common areas, and a giant kitchen and dining room area, Ren was thoroughly impressed. "You guys said you couldn't stay with anyone else because they didn't have room! What about this place?" she inquired. 

The kid beside her looked up and smiled. "I know something no one else knows." ” He winked.

…

In the dining room, there was a lavish spread of fruits and nuts, meats and cheeses, wines and not wines. Then there was a lovely spread of non-fancy foods, like mini corn dogs and fantasy Cheez-its and nachos. There was enough food to feed a village, which, if Magnus was to be there, was barely enough. And he was the last to arrive.

Once he was there, Lup gathered everyone into the dining room.

“Thank you for coming, everybody! We’re so glad you could all show up to our Candlenights party! Feel free to eat and exchange gifts and whatever. We have plenty of games, like Charades or Bingo or Fantasy Twister, set out in the back living room, and plenty of sitting room in the front room, as well as some mistletoe.” She winked. “Feel free to make good use of that, too. Now, go have fun!” 

Angus gave everyone a copy of the latest ‘Caleb Cleveland: Kid Cop’ book, which Ren thought was fitting, but made her wonder if he had that book already, and how he got the money for that many books. “He’s just a kid! How does he have that much money?,” she whispered to Taako, who was standing near her.

“He’s a professor at Lucas’s school and solves mysteries for money on the side. Kid’s loaded, and he’s not even eleven.”

“Wow,” she said, moving to go get another glass of wine. As she walked away, Magnus waved her over from the side of the room.

“So…” he said nervously. “I don’t know if you’ll like this, but it’s the best I could do.” He held out a strangely duck-shaped package and Ren took it. “I, uh, wanted it to be perfect, so, uh, yeah…” She unwrapped it and then she was holding a beautifully carved wooden duck. She looked up at him, delight on her face.

“Magnus, it’s amazing! Thank you!” she said, suddenly looking away as she remembered. “Oh! I’m sorry but I don’t have anything for you. I couldn’t figure out what to get you. I didn’t wanna get you a little trinket or a ball of yarn or...,” she trailed off as she had an idea.

“Oh, it’s okay. I don’t mind,” the man said. “I don’t need-” Then Ren popped up and gave him a shy kiss on the cheek. His face went completely red.

“Happy Candlenights,” she whispered, and then she turned on her heel and fled.

…

A few glasses of wine and not wine into the night, she found herself participating in a game of Charades with everybody. It was her turn. She looked at the slip of paper she’d drawn. She could do this.

She got up and pantomimed a growing stomach.

“Big dinner!” Merle guessed.

She shook her head. She continued miming. The stomach got bigger.

“A fat person!” Taako yelled.

She shook her head again. She then folded her arms in front of her and started rocking them.

“WE’RE HAVING A BABY!” Barry and Lup shouted at the same time. Everyone gasped, then started to cheer.

“Oh my Pan! Congratulations!” Merle let go of Davenport's hand to hug Lup and Barry around the legs. “You’re gonna love being parents!”

“Wait a second!” Taako butted in. “I know you got the parts. I did that, you’re welcome. But I didn’t think you’d be able to…”

“We’re going through a surrogate, but they’ll be genetically ours,” Lup grinned, looking back at Taako from her husband’s arms.

“Oh gods… A tiny Bluejeans menace is about to be among us…” He suddenly looked frazzled. Kravitz pulled Taako into a hug, stroking his hair and telling him everything was going to be fine. 

Ren surveyed the room and smiled, heart full. 

...

A little while later, Ren was on her way to sit on the couch in the front room of the Bluejeans house. She got halfway through the room before bumping into someone. 

And that someone was Magnus. 

"We have got to stop meeting like this!" he laughed, hands on her shoulders to hold her steady. She blushed. And then they heard a chorus of "OooOOOooo"s. 

That's when they dared to look up. 

They stood under the mistletoe, caught by accident, staying on purpose.

"Kiss her!" Merle shouted, ever the wingman.

Magnus looked nervous. "Can I?" he asked in a whisper. Ren nodded nearly imperceptibly.

He gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"That's not a kiss!" a drunk Lucretia yelled.

"I am so sorry," Magnus said apologetically, a sad look in his eyes, slowly reaching for her again.

"Don't be." Emboldened by the alcohol, Ren grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him into a kiss. A real one this time.

It was nice and it was sweet and it was everything Ren had ever wanted in one, but it was also over way too soon. She pulled away, realizing what she had done, and started to retreat back into the depths of the house.

"Wait! Ren!" He tried to grab her hand. She turned around. 

"I have to go." The look she gave Magnus broke his heart.

...

In the tub of the guest bathroom of the Bluejeans house sat a lonely drunk little dark elf, curled up in a ball of shame. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOO BOY! This is the longest chapter I've written, for sure! There's a couple real world references in it, too. Like, when I started writing this whole thing, it took a couple days before I realized that I'd written Ren's house as if it were my childhood home. Then, the Bluejeans house was, at first, subconsciously based on my best friend's childhood home. I actually had to count the rooms in my head to make sure I had it right in the end. And the lawn decorations bit is pretty much me just venting about a couple neighbors I had who lived down the street from said childhood home. One of the houses wasn't as bad as the other, but they were right next to each other so it was very blinding as people would turn down the street and be met with all the lights and cutouts and inflatables. And they're the reason I'm not a fan of decorating for Christmas besides a couple strings of lights.
> 
> Lup is canonically trans, and I'm sticking with that, so in this version of the story, Taako transmuted ALL her lady parts when she was ready. Everything functions like it's supposed to, mostly, but they aren't sure if her body can actually carry a baby full term, so surrogacy is the safest option. Especially since the cloning machines were destroyed and they can't make her a new body if this one dies. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you liked it, drama and all. I made my friend almost cry with a preview of the chapter ending. It's great.
> 
> And, hey, have you seen that new Gimjaach stand that just popped up? You should try it! It's delicious!  
> <3 ya!


	21. Distance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Ren hides

In the tub of the guest bathroom of the Bluejeans house, Ren hid.

She hid from the world.

She hid from her feelings.

She hid from Magnus.

Lights off, shower curtain drawn, door closed. No one would be able to tell she was in there. Except, someone did.

“Ren, sweetie?” The door to the bathroom opened, letting in some light from the hallway. A figure entered the bathroom and shut the door. “Are you okay?”

“ _ Great. Another elf _ ,” Ren thought. “ _ Stupid darkvision _ .” She heard footsteps come closer and closer until they reached the edge of the bathtub. The curtain rod squeaked as the curtain was pushed back from the wall. Ren heard the other elf sit on the side of the tub.

“Hey. What’s wrong?” Lup asked. Her hand came to rest on Ren’s back, rubbing soothing circles into it. 

A few minutes passed, and Ren let her head come up so she could look at Lup, who had a worried expression on her face. Ren’s own eyes had tears threatening to spill from them at any moment. She took a shaky breath and tried to speak, but the tears kept her voice from coming. The sobs erupting from her throat were gut-wrenching and full of suffering and made Lup’s heart ache. Ren cried and keened until the words she needed to say were available at the front of her mind.

“I- I- I- fucked things up, didn’t I?” she asked, leaning her head on the side of Lup’s leg. The other elf woman stroked her hair softly. 

“What do you mean?” Lup asked.

“I- I, uh, kissed Magnus and I probably crossed a line and, and, and…” Her voice broke and Lup could see how torn up by this she was. “I don’t even know how he feels about me, but I can’t stop thinking about him. I don’t want him to think… I just have to put some distance between me and my feelings and it’ll all be okay, I guess,” she lamented. Lup felt sorry for her. She really had no clue.

“Ren? Do you remember how it took nearly fifty years and a recital to get me to realize how Barry felt about me?” She moved off the side of the tub so she was on the floor and able to look Ren in the eye without forcing anything. “We were best friends until something gave us that shove that made each of us see that we were more than best friends. And now we’re married, we have the most awesome reaper jobs, and a baby’s on the way. Maybe this was your shove, hon.” The tears slowly falling from Ren’s face stopped as she thought about what Lup had said.

“Maybe this was,” she nodded, hope rising in her chest. Then she remembered where she was and who was there. “But, can I stay here in the tub for a bit? I need a minute to calm myself down.” Lup nodded. She stood up off of the bathroom floor.

“Come out whenever you’re ready. Party’s not the same without you,” she said, opening the door to go. “And, Ren, I wouldn’t put a ton of distance between you two. I think it would kill the big guy.” With that, Lup left, closing the door.

Ren’s ears perked up as she processed that last part. Strength and confidence bubbled up inside her. If he wouldn’t like her shoving him away, did that mean…? She shook that thought out of her head. If he liked her, he’d have to tell her, she determined, because she sure as hell had no way of knowing otherwise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo! Bean here! Hang in there! We have a few more chapters to go. 
> 
> Thanks for reading this far! It really means a lot!
> 
> And, hey, whether you celebrate old racist holidays is up to you, but make sure you eat something today, and tomorrow, too.   
> <3 ya!


	22. Floral

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Ren gets mixed messages

After the party, Ren went home after Taako and Angus left, giving her some time to herself. As if she needed any more of that at the moment. She walked home, alone, as it used to be, and she felt… wrong. Like she shouldn't have to be by herself. But what she did at the party was terrible and she needed to punish herself for it.

She hid away in her room most of the next couple of weeks, only coming out for meals and maybe a chat or two, but she’d turn tail and flee if she rounded the corner and saw or heard Magnus with her houseguests. Now that Ren had decided to put some distance between the two of them, it was like he never went away!

A couple days into her self-isolation, she began to receive floral arrangements left outside her bedroom door. Some of the flowers were freshly picked, and some were delicately carved from wood. Definitely Magnus. She had no idea how Magnus found most of these flowers, as they were out of season mostly, but he did. The wooden flowers were her favorites, though. It showed that he cared, even though the flowers did that already. Ren was tempted to throw them out every time she got another bouquet, but she realized after a few days that the flowers in them would repeat. 

Purple hyacinth, crocus, peony. Sorrow and shame.

White heather, pine, sprigs of ivy. Hope and strength.

Lavender, jonquil, azalea, ambrosia. Admiration and caring.

She knew a little bit about the language of flowers, and she noticed that some of the meanings were roughly the same. “Sorrow, shame, sympathy, forgive me…” she mused, sitting on the floor in a circle of flowers and papers. “ Affection, admiration, hope, returned... feelings…? This is so… so… so… sad and sweet and confusing and… AUGH! WHAT DOES HE WANT?!”

Her door cracked open. “Miss Ren? I don’t know exactly what you’re freaking out about, but I think Mister Magnus might want to talk to you about things,” Angus said in a smaller voice than usual. 

Her eyebrows rose. “Oh really? How can you tell?”

“Well, he keeps bringing over flowers, some of which have been whittled from scraps, which is what he does when he’s nervous. I know what those flowers mean... And… he’s here.” 

Ren suddenly slumped into her knees.

“Oh fuck.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to look up the language of flowers to get this chapter the way I wanted it, and now I know what my favorite flower means! Orange roses mean enthusiasm and passion, conveying romance in a softer way than red roses do. It's neat!
> 
> Also, I'm watching "Grace and Frankie," and one of the daughters is dating a guy named Barry, who's a nerd and kinda the definition of toast, but cuter, I guess, and this gal is super pretty and smart and badass, and I definitely see them as Barry Bluejeans and Lup when I'm watching this show.
> 
> And, hey, you don't have to be nice to people who are rude to you. You're allowed to stand up for yourself and others when you've been slighted.
> 
> <3 ya!


	23. Crazy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there is awkwardity

“Don’t worry, Ma’am. I haven’t let him in yet. I wanted to warn you first, since you seem to be avoiding him right now.” Angus was a good kid. Really. “I can tell him to go away if you want,” he said, looking very concerned.

Ren peeked out from between her knees. “Thanks, kid, but I think I can handle this. But, could you be in the next room in case there needs to be an interruption? I think I’ll feel better that way.”

“Whatever you say, Miss Ren.” He turned and shut the door behind him.

She sat up and brushed imaginary dust from her pajama pants. She smoothed out her shirt, and headed out to answer the door.

Ren could see a forlorn Magnus on the other side of the door through the peephole. Her heart ached. She had no idea what was making him this upset, but she knew why she was upset. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

“Heyyyy, Magnus,” she said rather awkwardly. “What brings you here?”

“I, uh, wanted to talk about what happened at the party.” He looked absolutely terrible, like he hadn’t slept in days, and he was shivering in the cold. “May I please come inside?”

“Oh! Yes! Come in or you’ll freeze out here.” Ren opened the door wider to let him in. She motioned for him to sit on the couch. “Have a seat! I’ll fetch something hot to warm you up!” She hustled into the kitchen and there were two mugs of hot cocoa on the counter all ready to go.  _ “Thanks, Taako,” _ she thought.

“Okay, here’s some hot cocoa for you,” she said as she handed the mug with the most marshmallows to Magnus. She sat and took a sip of her own mug. Just perfect. “So, what was it you wanted to talk about?”

The man looked into his mug as if it were a scrying mirror or something. “Um, at the party… the one at Barry and Lup’s house… I, uh, kissed you,” he said, getting real quiet towards the end of the phrase. “And… I’m sorry. I took advantage of you while you were, um, inebriated, and it’s made me feel like the worst person in the world. I hope you can forgive me, if you want. If you wanna hate me forever or take it out on me or whatever, feel free. I deserve it.” His eyes met hers for a second and Ren noticed just how torn up he was by all this. It was just a little peck. So what? 

She could still sense his shame and she was in awe. HIM? Doing something bad like that? No. Not possible.

Murder some gerblins? Yeah.

Let the bank explode? Several times. Different loops though.

Cause battle wagons to crash? Of course.

But taking advantage of her, Ren, who knew exactly what she was doing, even if drunk? No way.

“Magnus, stop beating yourself up about this. Sure, I was a little drunk, but I knew exactly what I was doing. I’m sorry I made things weird with that next kiss. I must have misread things, and I’m sorry.” She finished her apology, but she still had a question to ask. “And, um, what’s with the flowers? There are conflicting messages and it’s been driving me crazy! And where do you find SPRING crocuses in WINTER? Much less all the other nonseasonal ones?” Magnus looked up, shocked that she’d actually gotten the flowers. Or relieved that he didn’t actually take advantage of her like he’d thought he did. Or both.

“I’d been leaving them with Taako but he said you’d rarely left your room so you probably wouldn’t see them. I meant it to be just three bouquets, but the less I heard from you, the more I started to worry you’d never gotten them, so I left more. And I also got nervous and I’m a nervous whittler, so there was a lot of flower carving practice” he explained rather quickly.

“But, like, how did you get these VERY NOT IN SEASON flowers? And how did you know what they mean?” Ren asked.

“Oh, that. Merle’s, like, a plant god or something. ‘Proficient in flora’ as he says. We just say he’s crazy about plants. His greenhouse can grow pretty much anything, and the library has a couple books on flower language and arrangement and stuff. I asked Merle for the flowers and used the books to help arrange them.”

“Sorrow. You’re beating yourself up for a seemingly tame consensual interaction. Caring. You don’t want me to hurt. And… hope? For what? I don’t get it.” She looked genuinely confused by that one. “It’s sweet of you to send flowers, though.”

Magnus’s face fell when she asked about the last bouquet of flowers. Did she really not get it? If their feelings weren’t the same, why’d she kiss him on the cheek that night? Out of sheer happiness? Did she like the duck that much? It couldn’t be that, could it?

“Oh, uh… I thought… Nevermind… It’s nothing,” he lied. “At least you liked them.” 

They sat there in awkward silence for a while, just sipping their drinks quietly, avoiding eye contact. 

After a few minutes, Magnus stood up and set his mug on the coffee table. “Thanks for hearing me out. I think I’ll sleep better now that that’s off my chest. I’ll, uh, be going now. Oh! And tell Taako I said thanks for the extra marshmallows.” 

Ren just looked at him, unsure what to say. But she didn’t have time to say anything, because the next thing she knew, he was gone.

She retreated to her room once more, somehow more sad than she’d been the last two and a half weeks all combined. Sitting on the floor, she pulled out the scarf Magnus had given her and put it round her shoulders. It smelled like him and it was comforting. Then she wrapped herself in a cocoon of blankets, chasing the comfort of a hug. This was a close second, but it just wasn’t right. She closed her eyes and reached out towards her ring of flowers on the ground, fingers bumping into one of the whittled flowers right away. 

She picked it up. 

A rose.

Love.

She wept tears for a love she had never known, and probably never would know, before turning in early for the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know "awkwardity" isn't a word, but it fits the tone of the chapter, so there!
> 
> Thanks for coming along with me on this journey!
> 
> And... HEY! THAT'S NOT WHERE THE INTERDIMENSIONAL SPACE CATS GO!  
> <3 ya!


	24. Machine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Angus makes a thing

After she had that conversation with Magnus, in which there were more misunderstandings and awkward feelings, Ren threw herself into the hobby of seeing what everyone else is doing at the moment. There was still a week and a half until school resumed, so she had tons of time to kill and two guests still staying in her home. She thought Taako's apartment building would have been returned to the Prime Material Plane already, but he said there was no way of processing such a change during the holiday season. So he and Angus had to stay with her for the time being. 

Angus was busy with a project for school. Something about teaching students about physics or simple machines or something like that. Ren couldn't really remember the specifics of it, but it sure was interesting. 

"So, what is this, really?" she asked as she walked in on the boy painting small bits and pieces of metal at the kitchen table. 

"Oh, it's just a prototype for a machine that should be able to demonstrate how magic can be made to flow into objects." The child's eyes gleamed as he talked about the arcane sciences. "You see, magic can be shaped and formed…" He kept going for a few minutes. Ren held her chin in her hand as she sat at the table listening to the kid, soaking it in a bit and then zoning out. She zoned back in just as Angus was finishing up a question. "... with Mister Magnus?"

" Wait, what was that? I kinda zoned out there," the dark elf asked, curious as to how he got on that topic. 

"I said, how did it go with Mister Magnus?" Man, this small human was really digging into her personal life. 

"Oh uh…" Ren didn't know how to answer. 

He looked at her with a childish hope in his eyes. "Did you confess your feelings? Did you kiss? Are you two dating yet?" 

Ren spluttered at that. "Um no. To all of those. It's complicated," she replied. "Why would you even ask that?" 

"Well, I'm the world's greatest detective, and it doesn't even take ME to figure out how you two feel. It's quite obvious. It's not like we don't have eyes."

"And? How do we feel? Because I can't figure it out at all."

"He likes you. You like him. You're either stubborn or ignorant or both, but Mister Magnus doesn't just shovel anyone's driveway, or get covered in glitter, for fun. He makes and does things for people. That's how he shows people they're important to him. And he gave you the scarf Julia made for him. He must really like you," Angus McDonald, Boy Genius, concluded. 

Ren was processing all this information as Taako, houseguest number two, walked into the room. 

"Hey, kiddo! Nice machiney thing!" The man grabbed a slice of bread from the counter and turned back towards Angus and Ren, leaning against the counter. He took a bite. "So, what were we talking about?" 

"... Um…" Ren couldn't make any words come out of her mouth. 

"We were just talking about how Mister Magnus keeps doing things for her that he doesn't do for anyone else," Angus answered. 

"Ah, yes. You know, after you disappeared at the party, he got real concerned. Like he'd done something wrong and hurt you unintentionally," Taako explained. 

"No, no. He did nothing wrong. I did," the other elf admitted. "I let myself think someone actually cared about me and I kissed him."

"Okay, first off, kissing him was exactly the right thing to do. You two clearly like each other," Taako said, talking with his hands, waving his half-eaten piece of bread towards her. "And second, everyone here cares about you. We could have gone home already, but I chose to stay because you need help. I know it's been hard for you. I get that. I really do. I've been there. But we have people who want to see us happy, and successful, and who love us. It's hard to believe, but it's true. You don't have to worry about being alone and unloved ever again. And that man," he pointed towards the door, "my best friend, would love to make you feel wanted all the time. But only if you let him in."

Ren sighed, holding back tears. "Thanks for almost making me cry. Also, thanks for the hot chocolate the other day. Magnus said thanks for the marshmallows." He walked over to give her a hug. Ren held tight to her friend and the tears started to fall. Taako started petting her hair. 

"Oh, I know. By the way, he'd like you to meet him at the park tomorrow, around noon. He says he wants to start over and do it right this time. Can you do that?" Ren's head, now buried in his chest, nodded, sobs reverberating through Taako's torso.

"Good. You deserve it." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all, I wrote this one yesterday a couple of hours before hanging out with my new friends and realized that the reason I was sad after I finished it is because I wrote things I still have yet to internalize. Like, the entire part of Taako going on about how Ren is not alone and doesn't have to be alone again because she has friends who care about her. My birthday was the 22nd, and these friends drove thirty miles to pick me up so I could hang out with them all day, and it was the best birthday I've had in a while, even if they didn't originally know it was my birthday. They apologize for talking over me and get back to me about what I was previously talking about before the interruption, which is something not even my family does. They make me feel so included even though I'm new to the group, and they're the first people to make me feel like this in years. It's great to have good friends. Thanks for coming to my "Bean spills their beans" talk. 
> 
> Enjoy the next few chapters! They're cute, yaknow?
> 
> And, hey! If you don't have good friends, please find new ones. Ones that treat you right. You may think you don't deserve it, but you do.  
> <3 ya!


	25. Critter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which squirrels make an appearance

Ren woke the next morning to the smell of waffles cooking in the kitchen. There was a glass of water on the floor next to a bottle of healing potion with a nice little note under it. 

"Drink up! You'll need it! - Taako" 

"Thank gods," she said as she uncapped the potion and took a sip. She felt the headache of last night's sobfest fade away. Ren hadn't known how much she needed people around her until she forced herself into isolation after being around such good friends all the time, and the stress of worrying they'd leave had taken its toll on her. So she’d cried, ugly and loud and painful, until she felt better, surrounded by Taako and Angus and a whole lot of blankets. 

This morning, she felt better, especially with the help of the potion. She went out to the kitchen and was met with a spread of waffles and fried chicken and jams and jellies and bacon and pretty much everything one could think of putting on a waffle. A mug of coffee was set at her regular spot at the table as Angus and Taako swirled around the kitchen, finishing up breakfast preparations. 

"Just sit down and we'll take care of the rest," Taako said as he turned to place a couple dishes of food on the table. "We're serving ourselves from the table today. No getting up required."

After pretty much the best breakfast Ren had ever had, she got ready for her meeting with Magnus. She went over possible outfit combinations obsessively until she decided on a black sweater, jeans with warm tights underneath, boots, and a beanie to match. She took a deep breath as she looked herself over in the mirror. “It’s gonna be okay,” she told herself. “It won’t go down in flames. If it does, I have all the kindling one could need in this room.”

As she walked out the door, the wind picked up a bit and she went back inside, remembering there was something she should probably get from the house before she headed to the park. Grabbing the red scarf that sat folded on the arm of the couch, she called out to say that she was leaving and ran out the door again. 

…

Magnus walked around the park, an hour early due to nerves. He had a basket full of food, small things, really, in case they talked for so long they needed to stop and eat. Also because if he didn’t hold something, he was pretty sure he would fidget his fingers off. And he wanted to feed some squirrels. Preferably with Ren. Definitely with Ren.

He absolutely most definitely wanted to feed little park-dwelling critters with Ren. 

He wanted to sit in the park with Ren. 

He wanted to talk with Ren.

He wanted to do everything with Ren.

But first, she’d have to show up. 

…

Ren walked down the street and up towards the park, nervous as all hell. She looked around the park, filled with kids making snowmen and throwing snowballs at each other, searching for a sign of the man she was supposed to be meeting.

Magnus’s eyes scanned the park, hoping to catch a glimpse of the elven woman he wanted to make amends with. His heart raced as he saw a familiar red scarf in the sea of white. He stood up and started waving frantically. The figure turned towards him and started moving towards him, faster and faster. Magnus started to walk towards her. Ren met Magnus halfway to the bench he had been sitting on, her heart beating faster than she ever thought possible.

“Hey,” she panted. Her stomach filled with butterflies as they stood face to face.

“Hi! Thanks for coming,” Magnus said, delighted that she actually showed up. He turned and motioned towards the bench he had claimed. “Let’s go sit over- HEY!” He started back towards where he’d been sitting.

Ren looked over and there was a squirrel digging into the basket that was left on the old park bench. She followed the man, who was obviously concerned about the contents of the basket.

“Damn critters!” she cursed. Her ears picked up a chuckle from the carpenter. 

Maybe this was going to be so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy, we're almost to the end! It's been quite fun! And this one just felt like it needed to be a food and prep chapter a bit more than a conversational one. Sometimes you need those.
> 
> If you can, take a listen to "Old Park Bench" by the acapella group Inside Out. It is very reminiscent-like and definitely what I imagine an old Magnus singing as he struggles to remember everything on his deathbed, Ren by his side, still young as she's always been due to her elven lifespan. Okay. I've made myself sad now. Thanks, Bean. We did it again.
> 
> And, hey. Now it's December, which means... CANDLENIGHTS APPROACHES! I hope you do things for the season that make you happy. Maybe that's baking cookies, or freeing all the lobsters from the local Red Lobster establishment, or gifting presents to loved ones. Whatever you decide to do, have fun with it.  
> <3 ya!


	26. Snack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which they eat apples

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have some slight angst with a splash of fun. You're welcome!

Triumphant over the offending squirrel, Ren and Magnus retired to the bench, basket between them, glad for each other's company, though neither one would admit it just yet.

"That was some tough squirrel, huh?" Magnus chuckled. 

"Yeah! Who knew they could be that resilient?" Ren replied, laughing at the goofy little predicament they just faced.

"Feels good to just laugh at something like this again."

"It really does. Needed a laugh after the last couple of weeks," Ren admitted. "After being through hell and back growing up, this was an entirely different form of torture." 

Magnus turned towards her. "What do you mean?" he asked softly. 

" _ Great. Now he's concerned about me,"  _ Ren thought, a pang of guilt pricking her heart. " _ No. Stop that. It's okay. Let him in."  _ She looked up from her lap, focusing on the scar splitting Magnus's right eyebrow rather than making eye contact. 

"I'm not used to people being nice to me. It feels like they're doing it so I owe them. Or like they're going to get me to drop my guard and trust them and then they'll blow up on me over nothing down the road. I’m so used to people using me that it feels wrong to trust people, even when they’ve done so much for me. Like, having people staying in my house feels good. I’m not alone in a big house. But Taako and Angus have done so much more than I ever expected them to, and I still wonder if they’re going to abandon me and never talk to me again if I slip up. And you…” Magnus’s eyes widened. Ren’s eyes went back to staring into her lap. “I still have no clue why you’d wanna be around someone like me.”

“Someone like you? Ren, I can’t see why anyone wouldn’t want to be around you. And if you find someone who treats you like that, fuck ‘em. Well, don’t... actually… fuck them, but you know…” Ren could tell he was getting flustered. It was cute. Magnus quickly turned and pulled the basket of food onto his lap. He rummaged through it before pulling out and offering an apple. “Uh… Snack break?” 

Ren took the apple from his hand and just held it. Magnus looked at her, puzzled. Did she not know how to eat an apple? Well, he had to show her how then. He searched for another apple.

“So, you hold it like this,” he said, exaggerating his movements so she’d get the picture. “And you bite into it like this.” He took a big bite out of the apple. “And then you chew it,” he finished, mouth full of fruit. Ren giggled.

“Magnus? Did you think I didn’t know how to eat an apple?” The man swallowed, looking ashamed.

“Sorry. It’s just-”

“No, no. It was cute,” she laughed. “Please explain how to eat more things. Like…” She felt around the basket for something else to consume. “... A juice box?” Ren pulled out two boxes of juice, the kind a kid would take to school, and handed him one.

“Heh. Yeah. I wanted to bring beverages, but entire bottles of juice are too heavy, and the store was out of water bottles… And I believe drinking alcohol in public places is frowned upon.”

Ren chuckled at that. “But Magnussss, I don’t know how to use this,” she joke-whined, holding up her juice.

His eyes lit up. “Right! So, you remove the straw…” 

He demonstrated how juice boxes work, delighted to be in the park with Ren, being silly and having fun, as if nothing bad ever happened between them. And, as far as he was concerned, nothing had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love writing goofy!Magnus. It's just so fun putting all my silly imagined interactions into a character. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Just a couple more, my dudes! We're almost there!
> 
> Kudos and comments make my day!
> 
> And, hay. It's for horses.  
> <3 ya!


	27. View

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which small dates are had

After that day in the park, Ren began to see a lot more of Magnus. 

One day, he came over and they played chess for a couple hours. Magnus was slowly improving, still losing, but by smaller and smaller margins. A few more chess sessions and he’d be beating Ren, who was just a tad worse than Angus, whom he was really training to beat.

Another day, he came over with a new side table for the living room. He’d noticed the old one was really just a couple milk crates stacked on top of each other covered with a small tablecloth and couldn’t not do anything about it. Ren needed real furniture, he’d decided, so he made her a new side table to start. The purpleheart it was made from complemented the couch and chair that sat in the living room quite well, and the carpenter took note of the coffee table’s dimensions for a later project. 

Another time, he brought lunch to the school when Ren had a free period and they had an impromptu picnic in her classroom. Taako was, for lack of a better word, salty when he found out, but only because Magnus hadn’t brought him anything. The next day, a box of store-bought cookies was on Taako’s desk. The Good Kind. With sprinkles. All was forgiven.

…

“Thanks for agreeing to go hiking with me,” Ren said. “It’s been a while since I’ve done this and I kinda miss it.”

“Thanks for asking. I’ve been meaning to explore the area a bit more,” Magnus replied, glad to be getting some time outside. It was a fairly warm day for the season, so they were heading for one of the more scenic routes. One of the trails other hikers wouldn’t be on. 

They walked the trail up the mountain, talking and having fun all along the way. They’d stop to look at interesting trees or thawing ferns partially covered in old snow, picking up cool sticks and rocks just because they could. It was the most fun Ren had had alone with another person in a long time.

The two of them reached the end of the trail about mid-afternoon, with enough time to get back before sunset. Ren turned to look out at the valley below, motioning for Magnus to do the same. “Wow, this is quite the view,” she said, impressed at how small everything looked.

Magnus was looking at Ren, amazed at how beautiful she looked in this light, surrounded by nature with the sun casting an ethereal glow upon her. “Yeah. Yeah, it is.”

He was beginning to think this was the right time to confess his feelings. No one was there to interrupt them, the scenery was gorgeous, and he just couldn’t handle keeping it in for much longer. 

“Hey, Ren?” The elf who had his heart turned, a wistful smile on her face.

“Yes?” Magnus’s heart skipped a beat. He was really going to do this. Going to tell her exactly how he felt.

“I have something I need to tell you.”

Welp, here goes nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can just imagine Taako peeking into Ren's classroom and seeing the two of them eating at a desk. Magnus is turned around in the seat in front of the desk Ren's at so they can share the desk top. He is absolutely appalled that Magnus Burnsides, his best friend, would deign to visit his school and not call him to ask him to join them.
> 
> Have you ever been? Will you ever be? Do you exist in this moment? You'll never know if you don't go. You'll never shine if you don't glow.
> 
> And, hey, be nice to yourself right now. Everything's hit us pretty hard, but things'll be better. I just know it.  
> <3 ya!


	28. Undone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which feelings are lifted off chests

Magnus’s hands trembled as he stepped closer. 

“So, a while ago I apologized, and sent flowers with hidden messages, trying to tell you how I feel. And when you asked what they meant, I lied and said it was nothing. It’s not nothing. It’s something. I wanted you to know that… that… You didn’t have to be sorry about kissing me under the mistletoe.” Ren’s face was one of shock in that instant.

“But... you looked so sad and I was sure I did something wrong. I tore myself up about it for days. Weeks. I was so sure I’d ruined whatever bond we had because of that night,” she responded incredulously. “No matter what anyone said, I couldn’t believe them because… I’ve been wrong before.” Her face fell. 

Magnus reached for her hand, holding it ever so gently. “Look at me. I need you to hear this and understand.” Ren looked up at him. “I am completely and utterly undone by your existence. I thought there would never be anyone for me after Julia, but then I met you, and it’s like every fiber of my being wants to belong to you. Your smile pulls me in, and I’d rather drown in you than come up for air. That night I helped make snowflakes at your house, I genuinely thought you were hurt, dying even, because of the way Angus sounded when he called, and the thought of losing you before even getting to know you better scared me. And then you laughed, and it was the most beautiful sound in the world. I want to hear that sound all the time.” Ren smiled softly. “I made a fool of myself eating soup because I was distracted by you. Did you know you have that effect on people? I tried twenty times to start carving that duck because it had to be perfect for you. Just for you, already the most perfect being in the world.” He looked into her eyes and Ren’s heart started beating faster. “The night you all came caroling, I wanted to ask you to come inside for a while to warm up. I should have, but I didn’t know how to. Every excuse I came up with would have given me away, and I couldn’t go through with it, no matter how much I wanted it.” He paused, suddenly aware that he now had both of her hands in his. “Anyway, what I mean to say is that… I can’t stand not being with you. I can’t stand seeing you upset and being unable to do anything… And, I can’t stand the idea of not being in love with you, even if you don’t feel the same” he finished, letting go of her hands.

Ren stared at him with tears in her eyes, then moved forward and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. “Oh, thank gods,” she said into his chest. His arms wrapped her up and just held her for a while, joy rising in his chest. 

Magnus loosened his grip, pulling back just a little and Ren lifted her head. “I think I would like to kiss you now. Properly this time,” she whispered.

“Be my guest,” Magnus replied, already leaning in. Ren closed the gap between them, meeting his lips with hers. 

It was passionate, and satisfying, and long overdue. His lips were soft and warm and tasted like the honey from their mid-hike snack bars, and she wanted to kiss them all the time now. The rest of the world didn’t exist at that moment. Just the two of them, alone, sharing an intimate moment.

They parted ever so slightly and just looked at each other. 

“That was…” Ren trailed off, lost in his eyes.

“Lovely,” Magnus finished, hand coming up to cradle her cheek. “You’re lovely.”

“I’m not sure I believe you,” she smirked. “I think I need another demonstration.”

“Fine by me.” He pulled her in for another kiss, his hands holding her together as she came undone just then. This man somehow made her believe all the wonderful things he’d just said about her. She’d never thought it possible, but it was true.

She was beautiful. 

She was amazing. 

She was perfect. 

Absolutely perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... Here's the long-awaited confession chapter. Sorry for putting you through all the angst and sad times, but it was worth it. I so wanted to rush the ship in, like, chapter twelve, but knew it would be better to wait. And I didn't start this with the intention of it being a romance, but, here we are!
> 
> Three more chapters left! I'll be posting them in the next couple of days, don't worry.
> 
> And, hey, have you ever had anything from Dutch Bros? Do you even have any in your area? Do you like stickers? If you do, their free sticker day is the first of the month (today, when I'm typing this) and you get a sticker just for buying something there. I suggest you try it sometime!  
> <3 ya!


	29. Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Angus and Taako get a little nosy

Ren was pretty much floating when she returned home from their hike. Magnus liked her. He really liked her! She almost wouldn’t believe it, if not for the lingering feeling of his lips on hers. 

She was so distracted by the events of the day that she didn’t notice an object on the floor and tripped right over it.

“Hey!” the object said. “I was reading!” 

Ren looked down to see a grumpy Angus climbing out of a blanket nest on the floor.

“What’re you doing on the floor?” she asked.

“I was waiting for you to come home. You went out with Mister Magnus, didn’t you?” Damn that boy was quick to the point. “Did you enjoy your hike?”

“It was good,” she deflected.

“And…?” 

“And then it was great,” she said, heat rising to her cheeks. Angus smiled, big and bright, and clapped his hands.

“That’s great, Miss Ren! I wanna hear more about it! Did you kiss? Did you hold hands? Are you dating now? Are you guys gonna get married? Are you-”

“Whoa there! Slow down, Ango,” said Taako, coming in from the kitchen. “I’m sure she’s gonna wanna keep some things to herself, bubbeleh.” He turned to Ren. “Soooo… Did you… have fun?”

Ren sighed dreamily. “Yeah, I did.” Taako came forward and put his arm around her shoulders, leading her back towards the kitchen.

“Come help with the dishes and tell good ol’ Taako all about it.”

…

Magnus opened the door and nearly got bowled over by his dog.

“Good to see you, too, Johann.” He set his hiking gear down and sat on the couch, blissfully recalling the events of the day to his dog, petting him as he did so. Suddenly, his stone of farspeech lit up. He answered it, getting up off the couch as he did so.

“Oh, hey, Taako! It was grea- SHIT! FUCK! JOHANN STOP LAYING WHERE I’M WALKING! Sorry, I just tripped over my dog.” There was a chuckle on the other end. “But it went well! I confessed, said all the words that were bouncing around my brain, and now, we’re… dating, I guess? I don’t remember if we really clarified that or not, but- Hey! I was very distracted! At least I didn’t lose track of my own kid at the mall!” He laughed. “But I think we’re going to be fine. Yeah, we’re going to be fine.” He hung up. 

Then his stone of farspeech lit up again.

“Yes, Taako. What do you want now?” Wait. That wasn’t Taako’s voice. “Oh, uh, sorry Ren. I was just talking to- No, yeah, I can be there in, like, twenty minutes. That cool? Okay! See you then!” He heard the beep as Ren hung up. “...Love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, y'all! Thanks for taking the time to read my little story that kept me occupied for the month of November. We have this chapter, the next chapter, and then the epilogue, and then we're done with this one! Keep your eye out for more works set in and around this work. 
> 
> Thanks for all your comments and kudos. It means a lot to me.
> 
> And, hey! I'm proud of you!  
> <3 ya!


	30. Loud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Angus is startled

Angus McDonald woke with a start at the loud **_THUMP!_** and **_CRACK!_** that suddenly came from the living room. He scrambled for his glasses and headed down the dark hallway. Then he heard voices. His hand flew to his neck for his wand, but it wasn’t there. Right. He took it off to sleep so he wouldn’t get strangled by the lanyard in his sleep. The boy ran back to fetch it. If there were burglars in the house, he could take them down with his magic. Miss Ren would be glad he did that.

He returned to the hallway, more confident now that he had his wand. Then he heard small bursts of laughter. He relaxed a little.

“Owww,” a sleepy masculine voice whined. A higher voice chuckled. Angus stopped.

“That’s what you get for staying on the couch, Mags. Coulda come and cuddled with me, but noooo.” Okay. Angus recognized the voices now. It was Mister Magnus and Miss Ren. 

“But I didn’t wanna ruin your trance, babe,” Magnus whispered.

“You wouldn’t be messing with anything, love. It would help, really,” Ren sighed. Then Angus felt a pair of eyes on him. “I’m sorry, Angus. Did we wake you up?”

“Uh… I got woken up by what I can presume was Mister Magnus falling into something and thought there was an intruder. Sorry, Ma’am.” The child let go of his wand.

“No, no. Don’t apologize for wanting to protect everyone, kid. I would have done the same thing,” came Ren’s reply from the dark. “My boyfriend just fell off the couch in his sleep. Nothing to worry about.”

“Hey! That dream felt real!” Magnus countered. “The skeletons were… Never mind. It’s all good now. Go back to bed, Ango. Even the world’s best detective needs his sleep.” Angus sighed.

“Okay, Sir. Goodnight!,” he whispered, traveling back down the hall. As he was drifting back off to sleep, the conversation continued in the living room.

“Well, hon… I think I just broke your coffee table.”

“We’ll worry about that in the morning. Come get in the blanket nest with me,” Ren pleaded, holding out her arms. The human crawled over into her arms. She moved her hand in soothing strokes on his back.

“I was gonna make you another one anyway,” Magnus said sleepily.

“Mhm… Go back to sleep, babe.” She held him, rocking gently, and hummed a lullaby she remembered from her childhood.

“Mmm, tha’s nice,” the sleepy man mumbled. She pressed a kiss to his forehead. Fondness bloomed in the dark elf’s chest. She could get used to this.

She continued to hum and rock until she felt herself slipping into trance again. 

…

Morning sun beams spilled into the house, illuminating a living room with rays of soft light. In this room sat a couple pieces of furniture, clearly lived in and well-loved. The side table near the armchair looked slightly out of place due to its newness, but the most recent development in furniture was the coffee table, nearly snapped in two by something much stronger than it. And in the corner, a haphazard nest of blankets and pillows contained two individuals, humanoid in nature and absolutely in love with each other, cuddling the Sunday morning away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I've said this like every other chapter, but I really appreciate that you took the time to read all this. It means a lot to me that y'all enjoy what I've created. 
> 
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated!
> 
> And, hey, please keep yourself safe for me.   
> <3 ya!


	31. Epilogue - Yellow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a family goes to the park

The world thawed and winter gave way to spring, bringing with it warmer weather. Trees blossomed and flowers bloomed. Insects buzzed and birds sang. 

In the park on a bunch of blankets sat a family. An odd one, for sure, but family all the same. A reaper sat cuddling with his elf boyfriend, watching a game of little league. The Rebound team they were rooting for was coached by none other than local human Magnus Burnsides himself, Faerun’s premiere Rebound expert. His girlfriend, a dark elf in a yellow sun dress, sat in front of another elf woman, getting her hair braided as she worked on taming the wild hair of a young dwarf girl. The girl’s dads were sitting on another blanket holding hands whilst making sure her little brother didn’t get into any trouble. The boy kept trying to run into the game even though he had no clue what was going on. A Scottish Deerhound sat obediently on the blanket with the small dwarven child, almost making a barrier between him and the game. He wasn’t successful all the time, but his master would be proud to know he tried. Two older-looking humans talked about current affairs, half-watching the game because they didn’t want to miss a single point their favorite child, and world’s greatest detective, scored. 

The game ended spectacularly for a local little league, much to everyone’s delight. Coach Magnus scooped up the MVP, the kid named Angus, and put him on his shoulders, taking a small victory lap before returning the two of them to their family. The kid beamed, babbling to his guardians about how he scored the winning goal. The reaper and elf hugged the boy, quite proud of him, though the elf rarely showed it. 

Magnus walked over to sit next to his girlfriend, waiting patiently for her hair to be finished before swooping in to kiss her, overjoyed at the thrill of his team’s win. The other elf feigned disgust and went to see what her husband was talking with their friend about. 

...

After a late picnic lunch and some well-deserved celebration, the family packed up all their things and started to leave one by one. 

The elf, his reaper, and their human child returned to their apartment building, having been gently returned to its rightful place in the Prime Material Plane not long after Candlenights, though not without its fair share of paperwork.

The dwarven man and his gnome husband gathered their children and headed for home, a nice little place on the beach right outside of town. It was their weekend with the kids, after all.

The other married couple nearly vibrated home with joy, as the surrogate for their child had given them good news during the game. Not one, but two Bluejeans children would be running about in due time. They had to get their house prepared for double the trouble.

The older human woman congratulated Magnus on the team’s victory and walked towards the local diner for dinner and gossip with a couple of her friends.

Magnus grabbed his dog’s leash and turned to his girlfriend.

“You know, Ren, you look really good in yellow,” he said.

She twirled, showing off her dress. “You think so?” she asked cutely.

“Yes. I know so,” her boyfriend assured, pressing a kiss to her forehead before offering his arm to her. “Ready to go home?” She linked her arm through his. “Okay. Johann! Let’s go home, buddy!”

The dog bounded towards the sidewalk, happy to be with his master after having to watch that troublesome child earlier.

The sun set on Faerun, her inhabitants content and her skies calm, and the moon rose, full and bright. Peace spread through the land and everything was right with the world. Keyword: _was_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE DID IT! WE MADE IT TO THE END! OR IS IT??? MWAHAHAHAHAAAA!
> 
> Thanks for checking out my first fanfic! It means a lot! Your comments and kudos are appreciated and make my day! 
> 
> And, hey, thanks.  
> <3 ya!

**Author's Note:**

> So, this year I wanted to do something for National Novel Writing Month, and didn't draw anything for any of the October drawing challenges, so I am combining them and writing a chapter a day for all of November. And what better to write about than my favorite podcast?
> 
> I'm using the January 2018 A Drawing A Day list from @sketchbookskool on Instagram.
> 
> Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated.
> 
> Come find me on Tumblr! @tragicallybeautifultiger or @sloth-under-construction


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